Once Upon A Time in Black History: Onesimus

Onesimus (late 1600s–1700s) was an African man who was instrumental in the mitigation of the impact of a smallpox outbreak in Boston, Massachusetts. His birth name is unknown. His birth name is unknown. He was enslaved in 1706 and was given to the New England Puritan minister Cotton Mather. Onesimus introduced Mather to the principle and procedure of inoculation to prevent the disease, which laid the foundation for the development of vaccines.