His age was thirty-three, and his habit spare

The first reported death of a cholera victim in England, Oswald Reay, engine-man at Mr. Crawhall's ropery, Sunderland:-

SYMPTOMS OF OSWALD REAY'S CASE, AS REPORTED TO, OR WITNESSED BY, HIS PROFESSIONAL ATTENDANTS

His age was thirty-three, and his habit spare. At 11 p.m., 26th of October, 1831, having been previously in ill-health, he experienced a feeling of death, lips and aspect blue, purging of a liquid like thin gruel, spasms of the feet, extending up the legs to the stomach, occasional vomiting of similar fluid. In the night the neighbours alarmed by his groans. Domestic aid given. Brandy refused. At 8 o'clock a.m., sent for professional advice ; not obtained. At 3 p.m. prescribed for by Mr. Parr. At half past 5 visited by Dr. M'Whirter and Dr. White. Extremities then cold, pulse imperceptible, skin cold and clammy, extreme thirst, but mind tranquil; no urine passed since the commencement of the attack; distressing symptoms relieved by the measures employed. At half past 9, easier, but no re-action. At 12, breathing slow and laborious, incipient coma. Died tranquilly at half past 4 a.m., 29.5 hours from the commencement of the illness.

The Times, 5 November 1831

Cholera

 Just came across some great figures, which, having been rearranged, show your chances of getting cholera in the 1832 epidemic, depending on your location in London .... [doubtless available elsewhere, but still] ... sorted by deaths as a percentage of population ...

(Don't) Pump It Up!

(DON'T) PUMP IT UP!

John Snow is one of those Victorians who ought to be revered, and it's interesting to note that several books about him have appeared in recent years. He both pioneered anaesthetics (chloroforming Queen Victoria during childbirth) and was amongst the first to suggest that cholera was not caught by 'miasma' (foul vapour) but transmitted by drinking polluted water - famously, in the case of the Broad Street pump in Soho, where brewers, drinking beer exclusively, were shown to be free of contagion.

Anyway, a reader points me to this site, a companion piece to Cholera, Chloroform, and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow (Oxford University Press, 2003) which is packed full of all things Snow - well worth a look.

See also my earlier post, here.

John Snow

JOHN SNOW

I keep meaning to note this recently published title - 'The Ghost Map' - although it's hardly the first one on John Snow and cholera. Still, it seems to be doing well. For a good site on all things Snow, see this long-standing website on the subject, which includes broader material on Victorian London.