As with the article above, I was always taught to credit Jenner as the father of vaccinations and he was an important link in the chain of the growth and spread of knowledge, but there's a fascinating uncredited tale of traditional knowledge that he built on. I appreciate there's not always the space in articles to fit everything in, but I found the story fascinating and thought others might also.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu brought knowledge of small pox inoculations to the UK, having learned from Armenian healers during her time in Turkey. Her story is fascinating, but the key part here is that this knowledge came from outside the UK, and after the medical establishment reluctantly accepted methods developed by women, Jenner was using this treatment and made his breakthrough observation about the protective benefits of cow pox. His discovery greatly increased the safety of the process, reduced scarring and led to the word vaccine. 


There's a bit more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montagu