London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Deaths. The number of deaths in the Administrative County of London in 1898 (52 weeks) was 82,312, giving an annual death rate of 18.2 per 1,000 living. The London death rate in successive periods has been as follows—
| 1841-50 | 24.8 | 1891 | 21.01 | 1895 | 19.51 |
| 1851-60 | 23.7 | 1892 | 20.31 | 1896 | 18.11 |
| 1861-70 | 24.4 | 1893 | 21.0' | 1897 | 17.7' |
| 1871-80 | 22.5 | 1894 | 17.41 | 1898 | 18.2l |
| 1881-90 | 20.5 |
The death rate in each year since 18-40 in relation to the mean death rate of the period 1841-98
shewn in diagram III.
The following table has been prepared for the purpose of comparing the death rate of the
registration County of London with those 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 1898.
| Towns. | Estimated population middle of 1898. | Crude death rate per 1,000 living. | Death rate per 1,000 living (corrected for age and sex distribution). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888-97. | 1898. | 1888-97. | 1898. | ||
| London | 4.504.766 | 1972 | 18 .72 | 21.0 | 19.9 |
| Manchester | 539,079 | 24.8 | 21.9 | 28.1 | 24.8 |
| Liverpool | 633,645 | 25.5 | 24.0 | 28.0 | 26.4 |
| Birmingham | 510,343 | 20.7 | 20.0 | 22.9 | 22.1 |
| Leeds | 416,618 | 20.8 | 19.2 | 23.1 | 213 |
| Sheffield | 356,478 | 21.4 | 20.2 | 23.8 | 22.5 |
| Bristol | 316,900 | 18.5 | 172 | 19.2 | 17.8 |
| Nottingham | 236,137 | 18.8 | 17.7 | 20.2 | 190 |
| Bradford | 233,737 | 19.5 | 17.6 | 22.3 | 20.1 |
| Hull | 229,887 | 19.8 | 18.4 | 20.8 | 19.3 |
| Salford | 215,702 | 24.5 | 22.7 | 27.5 | 25.5 |
| West Ham | 286,654 | 17.4 | 15.4 | 18.8 | 16.6 |
London had therefore (comparing the corrected death rates) a lower death rate than any of
these towns, except Bristol, Nottingham, Hull and West Ham, both in the year 1898, and in the
period 1888.97.
The following table enables comparison to be made of the death rates of London with the death rates of several foreign cities.3
| Towns. | 1888.97. | 1898. | Towns. | 1888.97. | 1898. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 1972 | 1874 | St. Petersburg | 29.8 | 25.8 |
| Paris | 21.6 | 19.7 | Berlin | 200 | 17.3 |
| Brussels | 19.8 | 16.8 | Vienna | 23.6 | 20.1 |
| Amsterdam | 19.7 | 17.1 | Rome | 21.7 | 179 |
| Copenhagen | 19.9 | 17.9 | New York | 23.6 | 19.1 |
| Stockholm | 18.9 | 17.3 |
It will be seen that whereas the London death rate in 1888.97 was lower than that of any of
these towns except Amsterdam and Stockholm, in 1898 it exceeded the death rates of Brussels,
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin and Rome.
1 These deaih 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 outride Registration
London, but excluding: deaths of persons not belonging to London occurring in the Highgate Smallpox Hospital, in the London Fevtr
Hospital, in the Middlesex County Lunatic Asyluua at Wandsworth, and in the Metropolitan Asylums Board's Hospitals within
Registration London.
3 All death rates in this report relating to foreign cities are calculated upon figures published by the Registrar General.