*The total number of smallpox deaths in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763 was 622.
The actual numbers for each age bracket are as follows:
0-1: 118
1-2: 146
2-3: 136
3-4: 101
4-5: 62
5-6: 27
6-7: 27
Unknown:9
Citation formats
Share of smallpox deaths per age group in pre-vaccination Kilmarnock 1728-1763
According to reports from Kilmarnock, Scotland, in the eighteenth century, smallpox claimed the lives of 622* people between 1728 and 1763. The reports show us that almost 95 percent of these deaths were recorded among infants and children below the age of six years, and roughly two thirds of all smallpox deaths were recorded among those aged below three years. The disproportion between adult and child deaths due to smallpox was not unique to Kilmarnock at this time, as studies from Sweden and Switzerland show similar results; these studies and comparisons can be used to highlight the important role that vaccination has played in lowering the the infant and child mortality rates across Europe.
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Royal College of Physicians. (December 31, 2018). Share of smallpox deaths in select age groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before the introduction of vaccination [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Retrieved July 25, 2026, from /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/
Royal College of Physicians. "Share of smallpox deaths in select age groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before the introduction of vaccination." Chart. December 31, 2018. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. Accessed July 25, 2026. /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/
Royal College of Physicians. (2018). Share of smallpox deaths in select age groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before the introduction of vaccination. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc.. Accessed: July 25, 2026. /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/
Royal College of Physicians. "Share of Smallpox Deaths in Select Age Groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before The Introduction of Vaccination." ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Inc., 31 Dec 2018, /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/
Royal College of Physicians, Share of smallpox deaths in select age groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before the introduction of vaccination ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ, /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/ (last visited July 25, 2026)
Share of smallpox deaths in select age groups in Kilmarnock between 1728 and 1763, before the introduction of vaccination [Graph], Royal College of Physicians, December 31, 2018. [Online]. Available: /statistics/1107755/smallpox-deaths-by-age-kilmarnock-historical/
