English physician regarded as a founder of modern epidemiology. During the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London's Soho district, Snow mapped cases and traced them to a single water pump, arguing that cholera spread through contaminated water rather than bad air (the then-dominant miasma theory), and famously had the pump handle removed. His method, systematic mapping and statistical reasoning applied to disease spread, predates confirmation of the causative bacterium by decades and established a template for tracing infectious disease to its source. He was also a pioneer of anesthesia, administering chloroform to Queen Victoria during childbirth in 1853 and 1857.
Facts
Connections
Associated With
Cholera, Conditions Snow traced cholera transmission to contaminated water in 1854, before the specific causative bacterium was confirmed by Pacini (1854, largely unnoticed) or Koch (1883).
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
Specialist In
Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
Roy Porter, W. W. Norton and Company, 1997
Frequently Asked Questions
How did John Snow trace the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak?
He mapped cases to one water pump and argued that cholera spreads through contaminated water, not bad air.
During the 1854 cholera outbreak in London's Soho district, John Snow mapped cases and traced them to a single water pump. He argued that cholera spread through contaminated water rather than bad air, which was the then-dominant miasma theory, and had the pump handle removed. His use of systematic mapping and statistical reasoning to follow disease spread made him a founder of modern epidemiology.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.