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 1900
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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It will be seen from the following table that London in the period 1890-9 had a lower death
rate from these diseases than any of the undermentioned towns, except Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham
and Bradford, and in 1900 a lower death rate than any except Bristol and Bradford.
| Towns. | 1890-9. | 1900. | Towns. | 1890-9. | 1900. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 1.95 | ||||
| Manchester | 3.40 | 3.05 | Nottingham | 2.46 | 2.35 |
| Liverpool | 3.49 | 3.18 | Bradford | 2.27 | 1.36 |
| Birmingham | 2.90 | 2.72 | Hull | 3.10 | |
| Leeds | 2.92 | Salford | 4.30 | 3.98 | |
| Sheffield | 3.28 | 4.33 | West Ham | 2.99 | 3.10 |
The following table shows that the London death rate from the first six of these principal
zymotic diseases, viz., smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, and fever, was
in 1890-9 and in 1900 higher than that of any of these towns except St. Petersburg—
| Towns. | 1890-9. | 1900. | Towns. | 1890-9. | 1900. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg | 3.42 | 3.08 | |||
| Paris | 1.04 | Berlin | 1.37 | 1.29 | |
| Brussels | 1.02 | 0.59 | Vienna | 0.89 | |
| Amsterdam | 0.95 | 0.81 | Rome | 1.34 | 1.31 |
| Copenhagen | 1.51 | 0.62 | New York | 1.74 | 1.31 |
| Stockholm | 1.98 |
The death rates from the principal zymotic diseases in the several sanitary districts
| Sanitary district. | Deaths in 1900. | Death rate per 1,000 living. | Sanitary district. | Deaths in 1900. | Death rate per 1,000 living. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890-9. | 1900. | 1890-9. | 1900. | ||||
| Paddington | 222 | 2.06 | 1.75 | Shoreditch | 364 | 3.87 | 3.08 |
| Kensington | 286 | 1.99 | 1.66 | Bethnal-green | 355 | 3.72 | 2.7 4 |
| Hammersmith | 247 | 2.66 | 2.23 | Whitechapel | 142 | 2.81 | 1.81 |
| Fulham | 387 | 3.39 | 2.91 | St. George-in-the-East | 127 | 4.27 | 2.61 |
| Chelsea | 170 | 2.62 | 1.80 | Limehouse | 241 | 4.05 | 4.15 |
| St. George, Hanover-square | 63 | 1.41 | 0.82 | Mile-end Old-town | 288 | 3.30 | 2.57 |
| Poplar | 569 | 3.48 | 3.37 | ||||
| Westminster | 75 | 2.29 | 1.44 | St. Saviour, Southwark | 70 | 3.28 | 2.98 |
| St. James | 23 | 1.76 | 1.06 | St. George, Southwark | 213 | 3.89 | 3.52 |
| Marylebone | 259 | 2.27 | 1.94 | Newington | 355 | 3.33 | 2.92 |
| Hampstead | 96 | 1.33 | 1.18 | St. Olave | 20 | 3.03 | 1.87 |
| Pancras | 580 | 2.67 | 2.47 | Bermondsey | 277 | 3.30 | 3.36 |
| Islington | 667 | 2.52 | 1.99 | Rotherhithe | 140 | 3.08 | 3.62 |
| Stoke Newington | 51 | 2.55 | 1.50 | Lambeth | 519 | 2.55 | 1.74 |
| Hackney | 476 | 2.19 | Battersea | 415 | 2.97 | 2.47 | |
| St. Giles | 61 | 2.17 | 1.74 | Wandsworth | 361 | 2.07 | 1.60 |
| St. Martin - in - the -Fields | 10 | 1.63 | 0.85 | Camberwell | 534 | 2.65 | 2.07 |
| Greenwich | 418 | 2.87 | 2.29 | ||||
| Strand | 26 | 2.33 | 1.26 | Lewisham | 212 | 1.71 | 1.67 |
| Holborn | 69 | 3.12 | 2.30 | Woolwich | 116 | 2.69 | 2.80 |
| Clerkenwell | 179 | 3.59 | 2.79 | Lee | 57 | 1.60 | 1.24 |
| St. Luke | 132 | 3.83 | 3.48 | Plumstead | 150 | 2.49 | 2.25 |
| London, City of | 24 | 1.45 | 0.88 | ||||
The eastern group of districts had the highest mortality from the principal zymotic diseases in
1900, viz., 2.92 per 1,000 living, and the western the lowest (1.87). Among the sanitary districts
Limehouse had the highest death rate (4.15) and St. George, Hanover-square, the lowest (0.82).
Smallpox and Vaccination.
The deaths from smallpox in the Administrative County of London numbered 4 in 1900, and
2 deaths were attributed to cowpox and effects of vaccination.
lSee footnote (a), page 5. *See footnote (*), page 5.
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