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Medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries
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Between 1700 and 1900, medicine finally found the real cause of many diseases: germs. Prevention and public health improved too.
Jenner and vaccination
In 1796 Edward Jenner noticed milkmaids who caught cowpox did not catch smallpox.
He infected a boy with cowpox, then with smallpox. The boy did not get ill. This was the first vaccination.
The government made smallpox vaccination compulsory in 1853.
He infected a boy with cowpox, then with smallpox. The boy did not get ill. This was the first vaccination.
The government made smallpox vaccination compulsory in 1853.
Germ theory
In 1861 Louis Pasteur published his germ theory: microbes cause decay and disease.
Robert Koch then identified the specific bacteria that cause diseases such as tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883).
Robert Koch then identified the specific bacteria that cause diseases such as tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883).
Public health
In 1854 John Snow linked cholera to a water pump on Broad Street, London. Removing the pump handle reduced cases.
The Public Health Act of 1875 made it compulsory for local councils to provide clean water, sewers and drainage.
The Public Health Act of 1875 made it compulsory for local councils to provide clean water, sewers and drainage.
Why was John Snow's work important even before germ theory was accepted?
- Snow mapped cholera deaths and found they clustered round one pump.
- This was evidence that cholera spread through water, not miasma.
- It helped push governments towards clean water supplies.
Answer: It gave evidence that dirty water spread cholera, supporting public health reform.
Jenner's vaccination (1796), Pasteur's germ theory (1861), Koch's identification of specific bacteria, Snow's Broad Street pump (1854) and the Public Health Act (1875).
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