It was 50 years ago when Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine that had the potential to eradicate polio. At that time in history, polio was one of the most feared diseases in the world. Today Canada Post releases their .50-cent domestic rate stamp, paying tribute to this great moment in medical history.

Many people can still remember the polio epidemics of the 1940s and 1950s. The newspaper photos and newsreel footage of children with leg braces, physical therapy being conducted in swimming pools and of victims encased in “iron lungs.” Polio attacked not only children and adults, including U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Canada’s current Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Click here for an interesting look into the background of Dr. Jonas Salk.