Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Cholera - sometimes called the ‘blue death’ because of the bluish cast it gave to the skin of some patients - killed tens of thousands of Londoners in the late 1840s. But no one really knew how the disease was spread. This map shows how scientists used new methods to trace the disease across the city, identifying patterns in its occurrence and helping to unravel the causes of the contagion.
Alt text: This video shows a map of London made in 1850, with areas of the city stained in various shades of blue to indicate levels of mortality from the illness.
Credit:
Report of the General Board of Health on the epidemic cholera of 1848 & 1849. Great Britain. General Board of Health. Date: 1850
#pandemic
#map
#cholera
#disease
#history
Cholera - sometimes called the ‘blue death’ because of the bluish cast it gave to the skin of some patients - killed tens of thousands of Londoners in the late 1840s. But no one really knew how the disease was spread. This map shows how scientists used new methods to trace the disease across the city, identifying patterns in its occurrence and helping to unravel the causes of the contagion.
Alt text: This video shows a map of London made in 1850, with areas of the city stained in various shades of blue to indicate levels of mortality from the illness.
Credit:
Report of the General Board of Health on the epidemic cholera of 1848 & 1849. Great Britain. General Board of Health. Date: 1850
#pandemic
#map
#cholera
#disease
#history
