Who were Sarah Nelmes and James Phipps in Edward Jenner's vaccination experiment?

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Smallpox vaccination — smallpox Edward Jenner vaccinating his child against smallpox; colored engraving.

In Edward Jenner’s pioneering smallpox research, Sarah Nelmes and James Phipps played pivotal roles in the development of the first vaccine:

Sarah Nelmes: A young dairymaid who contracted cowpox. In May 1796, Jenner identified fresh cowpox lesions on her hand, which served as the source of the material he used for his experiment.1
James Phipps: An eight-year-old boy who had never had smallpox. On May 14, 1796, Jenner inoculated Phipps with matter taken from Sarah Nelmes’s lesions. After Phipps recovered from a mild illness, Jenner challenged his immunity on July 1 by inoculating him with smallpox matter. The boy did not develop the disease, demonstrating that the cowpox inoculation provided complete protection against smallpox.1

This experiment was a landmark in medical history, proving that cowpox could be used as a deliberate mechanism of protection against the far more deadly smallpox virus.1