1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak
The Broad Street cholera outbreak of 1854 in London was a major event in public health history. It's known for Dr. John Snow's groundbreaking work. He believed contaminated water, not bad air, caused cholera. The outbreak was in a dirty area, and water was tainted with sewage. People debated if cholera came from the air or germs. Snow's study supported germ theory. His work showed that a public well was the source of infection, leading to the removal of its handle. This marked a turning point in understanding how diseases spread, focusing on water and germs rather than bad air.
1854 Broad Street Cholera Outbreak Media
Original map by John Snow showing the clusters of cholera cases (indicated by stacked rectangles) in the London epidemic of 1854. The contaminated pump is located at the crossroads of Broad Street and Cambridge Street (now Lexington Street), running into Little Windmill Street.
Source: Photograph by Scott and Sons, Carlisle in Rawnsley, H.D., Henry Whitehead, 1825-1896: A Memorial Sketch, James MacLehose and Sons, Glasgow, 1898
The pub, close by to the new location of the pump, named after John Snow.
A wider image of the pub named after John Snow with the pump centre-right
The new location of the pump whose handle John Snow removed.
A wider image of the pump, with the red granite slab in view in the bottom-left corner.
The plaque that rests on the new foundation of the pump.
A plaque marking the significance of the red granite and the pump. Located on the wall of the John Snow pub, straight across from the pump itself.
