Charles Pearce

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Charles Thomas Pearce, MD, (d. May 9, 1883 Torquay) was an English physician and notable opponent to mandatory vaccination. He first became interested in a possible vaccine controversy in 1856 when an article^{[citation needed]} was submitted to a medical journal^{[citation needed]} of which he was the editor, by John Gibbs, a hydropath with controversial views on vaccination. Pearce began lecturing on the subject, and in Northampton in 1860 he held his first public debate.

In 1871, Pearce gave evidence to a Select Committee appointed to inquire into the Vaccination Act of 1867, and also published his beliefs about smallpox vaccination in several books. A quote from his 1868 book Essay on Vaccination, describes his interpretation of a smallpox outbreak in Calcutta:

From December, 1849, to April, 1850, inclusive, 76 cases of small-pox were admitted into the General Hospital at Calcutta. Of these cases 29 died. Of the 76 admitted 66 had been vaccinated. Of the 66 vaccinated 41 had good cicatrices, 25 were not so well marked. Of the total 76 cases 30 were severe and confluent, 46 mild or modified. Of the 10 unprotected cases 5 were severe and confluent, and the remaining 5 were mild attacks. Of those who had been vaccinated in early life 16 died. The mortality here stated as occurring from variola after vaccination was 16 out of 66, or 24 per cent.

[edit] Publications

• 1853, Diarrhœa and Cholera: their homœopathic treatment and prevention briefly described, Northampton.
• 1868, Essay on Vaccination Online contents (Whale.to)]
• 1881, Small-pox & vaccination in London, 1880-81, London: E.W. Allen
• 1882, Vital Statistics: Small Pox Vaccination in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Continental Countries and Cities, London: Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination

[edit] See also

• National Anti-Vaccination League
• Walter Hadwen
• William Tebb