The polio vaccine
Who
Jonas Salk, who developed the first effective inactivated vaccine, and Albert Sabin, who developed the oral vaccine — both American Jewish physician-scientists.
When
1955 (Salk); 1961 (Sabin)
Where
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, USA
Polio once paralysed hundreds of thousands of children each year until effective vaccines nearly eliminated it. The first inactivated vaccine was created by Jonas Salk in 1955 and the oral vaccine by Albert Sabin, both American scientists from Jewish immigrant families, and neither patented his vaccine so it could reach the world cheaply.
Sources
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.