The Cholera Spread In London In The 19th Century

In the summer of 1854, London was coming out as one of the most modern cities in the world. With nearly 2.4 million people living in the area at the time, the city’s infrastructure itself was having a hard time providing for the basic needs of its residents. The biggest problem existing within the city at that time was its waste removal system, or for better terms, its lack of one. Human waste was piling up everywhere, from people houses to the rivers and drinking water. This situation was the perfect breeding conditions for a number of diseases, and towards the end of that summer, one of the most deadly of them all took over. It took the work of both a physician and a local minister in order to discover the mysterious cause of the

During the pandemic of bubonic plague sanitation was at an all-time low. Cities suffered the greatest, with the disease spreading quickly. The lack of a safe system for waste disposal in these areas allowed for the disease to spread rapidly. The use of chamber pots was an example of the poor waste disposal. Chamber pots were small to medium sized bowls used for holding excretion. The contents of the chamber pots would then be tossed into the streets. Both sides of the streets were lined with trenches that would hold the human waste and other garbage; this became the perfect opportunity for disease to flourish. “Almost everyone used privies or chamber pots, which were emptied into open sewers that typically fed into streams, creeks, or adjacent rivers” (Streich). Not only was the filth repulsive in smell, but it also carried other airborne diseases which weakened the immune system thus a more catastrophic impact on the peasants.

In the book The Ghost Map, cholera was going into a massive outbreak in London during 1854. The story begins as one of the characters, baby Lewis, Contracts cholera, and when the mother washes diapers and cleans for the baby, she throws the water into the street. This leads to the outbreak. While the Board of Health believed the smell of the city was the cause of the outbreak, there was another citizen who believed otherwise. Henry Whitehead was a doctor who began to specialize in anesthesiology. Meanwhile, John Snow was researching his own theories, and he worked his way through the city to locate where high volumes of people were dying. While he was doing his research he began making a map, and he graphed where people were dying. Each house

In the early 19th Century the vast majority of housing for the working class was in a terrible condition, which were mainly due to overcrowding, poor ventilation and unsanitary environments. These issues lead to outbreaks of cholera on a number of occasions between the years 1813 and 1865. The Public Health Act was introduced in 1848, which required all local authorities to provide towns with hygienic sewage disposal and clean water supplies. Due to the presence of disease in slums, the Sanitary Reform Act was introduced in 1866. The act gave local authorities powers to inspect the cleanliness of homes in their district. (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). As stated by Berridge, Martin and Mold (2011), the Sanitary Reform Act aimed to address the problems with sewage, household waste and contaminated

Public health may have remained a pool of disease was it not for the reforms made in the middle ages Though the town authorities tried their best, London was probably the most unsanitary town in England. Slowly, however, rules were made and enforced. In 1301 four women butchers were fined for throwing the blood and guts of slaughtered animals into the street. By 1370, 12 teams of 'muck' collectors combed the streets for animal and human excrement - money could be made out of it by selling it to local farmers (which helped further spread the various diseases…)

We see also the work John Snow (physician) who discovered the polluted public water Well as a source of outbreak disease such as cholera in the poor areas in London. This was the starting point of epidemiology

I chose to read The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World. I found this book especially compelling because most people have never even heard of the cholera epidemic in London in 1854, nor its impacts on the cleanliness of today’s society. In his book, Stephen Johnson explained how in 1854, everyone living in London thought that all disease was spread through foul-smelling air (miasma). John Snow, a local doctor in London, wanted to know why so many people were dying of cholera, and others were not. He was the one that originally discovered that the epidemic was surrounded around a water pump on Broad Street, and Henry Whitehead was the one who proved that he right

In American industrial cities, late 1800s, Poor neighborhood were not the best place to live. With poor living conditions, poor sanitation and crowded housing, many epidemics of infectious disease spread into the poor population and touched even the wealthy class. Cities such as New York were crowded and workers were living in tenements, which were often cramped, poorly lit and poorly aerated. Moreover, these tenements lacked of adequate plumbing, therefore waste was flooding in the public streets. Streets was crowded of waste and garbage. Population was poorly nourished and has a poor life hygiene like water pollution and poisoned food and milk. Accordingly, infectious disease was the common death reason. Big cities had known outbreaks of

In the very first chapter, Steven Johnson begins to set the scene of how the overpopulation of London coupled with extreme levels of poverty created the perfect opportunity for Cholera to spread in the rapid manner that it did. On page one it states; “These were the London underclasses, at least a hundred thousand strong. So immense were their numbers that had the scavengers broken off and formed their own city, it would have been the fifth-largest in all of England.” Johnson mentions that the city of London had become a city of Scavengers, consisting of; bone-pickers, pure-finders, dredgermen, sewer-hunters and night-soil men. However, the harshest reflection of the Cholera epidemic of 1854 is conveyed by John Snow himself. On page 59 it states; “The young Snow observed

Many immigrants that come to Newark are forced to live in tight spaces, and even tenements, meaning that those who are the most targeted by this disease are the immigrants that come to Newark. Most people of higher classes began to accuse immigrants of bringing the disease, rather than focusing on eradicating the disease. Everyone wants to point fingers at immigrants because it is easier to point out those who are new to town, and are not pivotl to society. For these immigrants, many of them are victims to this disease all due to being forced in a poor lifestyle because of their financial status. Stuart Galishoff, a writer, also touches on Cholera hitting Newark, and writes a book titled, “Newark, the Nation’s unhealthiest City”. In this book he claims, “The epidemic raged out of control until late August. By a quirk of fate the last case occurred in early September in the same house in which the diseases had first appeared some two months earlier. In all, 127 had contracted Cholera and 65 died” (54). Through his perspective of Cholera coming to Newark, the audience is given a time frame of when this occurred, as well as the toll it took on its residents. This Information can be used to see how a disease can come to a city, collect victims, and then eventually leave. Cholera is a disease that is a part of Newark’s past, and through Galishoff words it becomes evident that Cholera is a cyclic disease whose

John Snow’s findings in place, the Great Stink was the last factor that finally motivated the government to deal with their contaminated drinking water. Years later, another outbreak erupted. Farr, Radcliffe, and Whitehead referred to the now deceased physician’s theory of cholera. Farr was convinced that cholera originated in contaminated water, and he found out that the drainage system in the devastated part of the city was not in use yet. The outbreak of cholera on Broad Street and the iconic map thereafter helped to improve sanitation; the reputation of this famous, clean water, and the isolated cases that specifically fetched water from this pump, were a few factors that aided Snow in his conclusion that cholera came from the Broad Street well. Dr. Snow provided the theory, and Whitehead backed it with evidence. When the scientific mainstream came to accept the cholera theory of water, hygiene was significantly bettered in cities. Sanitary water supplies and waste-removal systems became the central infrastructure project of every industrialized city on the planet. These sewer lines and freshwater pipes made the modern city safe for new inventions and developments.

The Cholera Years by Charles E. Rosenberg and A Shopkeeper’s Millennium by Paul E. Johnson initially viewed as two completely different and unrelated books, but upon examination they both deal with the social changes during the mid-nineteenth century and how the American society dealt with those changes. Rosenberg’s book focuses on the epidemics of cholera, primarily in New York City, and how during the three different epidemics society reacted differently to discover the cause and act upon the recommended solutions to combat and deal with the cholera disease. Johnson’s book discusses the early development of the city of Rochester, New York from 1815-1837 and the social reform movements that affected the city during this time period.

I agree with the author's message, because it has since been proven true, again and again, throughout history. We have learned from our past mistakes; and now have thriving, healthy metropolitan cities today. This book is a historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in

Trends come and go, but some can stay buried in history. Especially the ones we have in the list. We found the worst trends that ever caught on, and compiled them into a fun little adventure for you. Don’t try to start any of the up again, because they are by far the worst trends that were ever started.

In the TGM, Johnson includes scientific evidence and tangents to enrich the story of the cholera epidemic on London. Johnson tries to get a “bird’s eye view” of seeing how cholera spread through London. In that way Johnson tries to get the reader to not only see individual stories of people who contracted cholera but to produce information on how it came about, what it is, and give as much background and insight to get the reader to see information they usually wouldn’t. Johnson also uses these scientific tangents to show modern era readers that based on what happened in London it forever affects us today. Johnson gives information on what happens and then he goes on a tangent explaining how essential the specific information plays a role in the development of London. He tries to bring the information of what happened two centuries ago to relate to modern readers. It was essential that Johnson gave extra information because it helped to further develop the story. Adding in these details answers the readers’ questions and gives an explanation on why something took place while reassuring the reader by giving factual research. It doesn’t take away from the story nor distract the reader from the central idea of the story. It adds more information to benefit the story as a whole by enriching the reading by giving factual evidence.