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Allan Downie

About MeAberdeenshire-born Allan Watt Downie was the medical microbiologist whose work led to the eradication of smallpox, celebrated as one of the greatest medical triumphs of the 20th century. Educated at the University of Aberdeen, he later returned to lecture in bacteriology before turning to the new science of viruses.

Appointed Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Liverpool in 1943, he headed a laboratory that became the world centre for the study of smallpox. Allan’s research, undertaken with his team, spanned two decades, and resulted in the World Health Organisation recognising that an effective smallpox eradication plan was possible. With Allan’s guidance a successful vaccination programme was launched in 1966, when the disease was killing ten million people per year. In May 1980 the World Health Assembly officially certified the global elimination of smallpox – the first ever eradication of a disease in human history.