Johnnie Notions

John Williamson (c. 1730 – c. 1803), more commonly known by the nickname Johnnie Notions (Shaetlan pronunciation: ['dʒouni] JOH-nee) was a self-taught physician from Shetland, Scotland, who independently developed and administered an inoculation for smallpox to thousands of patients in Shetland during the late 18th century. Despite having only an elementary education and no formal medical background, the treatment he devised had an extremely high success rate, resulting in the immunisation of approximately 3,000 people and the saving of many lives, which had a significant effect on the demographics of the Shetland population at the time. He is reputed not to have lost a single patient.

While Notions administered his inoculation by at least the late 1780s to early 1790s (and likely much earlier), his method was largely overshadowed by the work of Edward Jenner, who pioneered the cowpox-based smallpox vaccine in 1796. Despite this, Notions and his inoculation were held with high regard with Shetlanders at the time, while the same could not be said for the cowpox-based vaccination introduced to Shetland in subsequent years.

Early life

John Williamson was born the son of Andrew Williamson; his mother's name is unknown. It has been suggested that the practice of naming John by his father's own surname, not adopting the patronymics system that was prevalent in Shetland at that time, indicates that his immediate family could be considered progressive and modern for the time. John Williamson's birth year is not known with any certainty – while his tombstone states he was born in 1740, some have suggested he was born as early as 1730. His place of birth is also not certain, but is thought to be Hamnavoe, Eshaness, in which the Williamson family lived from at least the late 1740s and possibly much earlier.

Smallpox inoculation

Background

Shetland, being a relatively isolated community, was susceptible to outbreaks of smallpox throughout the 18th century that would spread through large proportions of the population due to a lack of immunity to the disease.