London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1897
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
Deaths. The number of deaths registered in the Administrative County of London in 1897 (52 weeks) was 79,209, giving an annual death rate of 17.7 per 1,000 living. Since the year 1870 the London death rate has been as follows-
| 1871 | 24.6 | 1878 | 23.1 | 1885 | 20.4 | 1892 | 20.31 |
| 1872 | 21.5 | 1879 | 22.6 | 1886 | 20.6 | 1893 | 21.01 |
| 1873 | 22.4 | 1880 | 21.7 | 1887 | 20.3 | 1894 | 17.41 |
| 1874 | 22.4 | 1881 | 21.3 | 1888 | 19.3 | 1895 | 19.51 |
| 1875 | 23.6 | 1882 | 21.5 | 1889 | 18.4 | 1896 | 18.11 |
| 1876 | 21.9 | 1883 | 20.8 | 1890 | 21.4 | 1897 | 17.71 |
| 1877 | 21.6 | 1884 | 20.9 | 1891 | 21.01 |
The death rate since 1840 in relation to the mean of the period 1841.97, is shown in
diagram III.
The following table has been prepared for the purpose of comparing the death rate of the
registration County of London with that of other English towns having populations which exceeded
200,000 persons at the census of 1891.
The columns showing "death rates corrected for age and sex distribution" have been obtained
by multiplying the crude death rates by the "factor for correction" published by the Registrar. General
in the Annual Summary for 1897.
| Towns. | Estimated population middle of 1897. | Crude death rate per 1,000 living. | Death rate per 1,000 living (corrected for age and sex distribution). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1887-96. | 1897. | 1887-96. | 1897. | ||
| Manchester | 534,299 | 25.3 | 23.1 | 28.7 | 26.2 |
| Liverpool | 633,078 | 25.7 | 24.4 | 28.2 | 26.8 |
| Birmingham | 505,772 | 20.7 | 21.6 | 22.9 | 23.9 |
| Leeds | 409,472 | 20.9 | 19.9 | 23.2 | 22.1 |
| Sheffield | 351,848 | 21.5 | 21.2 | 23.9 | 23.6 |
| West Ham | 273,682 | 17.8 | 15.7 | 19.2 | 16.9 |
| Bristol | 232,242 | 18.9 | 17.2 | 19.7 | 18.0 |
| Nottingham | 232,934 | 19.0 | 18.8 | 20.4 | 20.2 |
| Bradford | 231,260 | 19.9 | 17.4 | 22.8 | 19.9 |
| Hull | 225,045 | 20.0 | 18.6 | 21.0 | 19.5 |
| Salford | 213,190 | 24.7 | 23.9 | 27.8 | 26.9 |
London had therefore (comparing the corrected death rates) in 1897 a lower death rate than
any of these towns except West Ham and Bristol, and in the period 1887-96, a lower death rate than
any except West Ham, Bristol, Nottingham and Hull.
The following table enables comparison to be made of the death rate of London with the death
rates of several foreign cities*-
| Towns. | 1887-96. | 1897. | Towns. | 1887-96. | 1897. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.9 | 18.22 | St. Petersburg | 29.7 | 29.0 | |
| Paris | 22.0 | 18.6 | Berlin | 20.4 | 17.7 |
| Brussels | 20.2 | 16.6 | Vienna | 23.9 | 20.9 |
| Amsterdam | 20.2 | 15.8 | Rome | 22.6 | 16.9 |
| Copenhagen | 20.5 | 17.5 | New York | 24.2 | 19.4 |
| Stockholm | 19.3 | 16.7 |
It will be seen that whereas the London death rate in 1887-96 was lower than any of these
cities except Stockholm, in 1897 it exceeded the death rates, of Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen,
Stockholm, Berlin and Rome.
The following table shows the crude death rates and the death rates, corrected for differences
in the age and sex constitution of the populations, obtaining in each of the sanitary districts of London
for the year 1897 (52 weeks), and the period 1887-96-
1 These death rates are fully corrected for institutions, i.e. by the exclusion of deaths of persons not belonging to but occurring in
institutions situated within London, and by the inclusion of deaths of persons belonging to but occurring in London institutions
situated outside the administrative County.
2 Including deaths of Londoners in the Metropolitan Workhouses, Hospitals and Lunatic Asylums, situated outside Registration
London, but excluding deaths of persons not belonging to London occurring in the Highgate Smallpox Hospital, in the London Fever
Hospital, in the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum at Wandsworth, and in the Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals within
Registration London.
* All death rates in this report relating to foreign cities are calculated upon figures published by the Registrar-General.