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 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| 1841-50 | . 24.8 | 1892 | 20.31 | 1898 | 18.41 |
| 1851-60 | 23.7 | 1893 | 21.01 | 1899 | 19.61 |
| 1861-70 | 24.4 | 1894 | 17.41 | 1900 | 18.61 |
| 1871-80 | 22.5 | 1895 | 19.51 | 1901 | 17.11 |
| 1881-90 | 20.5 | 1896 | 18.21 | 1902 | 17.21 |
| 1891 | 21.01 | 1897 | 17.81 | 1903 | 15.21 |
The death-rate in each year since 1840 in relation to the mean death-rate of the period
1841-1903 is shown in diagram III
The following table has been prepared for the purpose of comparing the death-rate of
London with those of other English towns having populations which exceeded 200,000 persons at
the census of 1901
The columns showing "death-rates corrected for age and sex distribution" have been
obtained by multiplying the crude death-rates by the "factors for correction" published by the
Registrar-General in the annual summary for 1903—
| Towns. | Estimated population middle of 1903. | Crude death-rate per 1,000 living. | Death-rate per 1,000 living (corrected for age and sex distribution). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893-1902. | 1903. | 1893-1902. | 1903. | ||
| Liverpool | 716,810 | 23.9 | 20.5 | 25.6 | 21.9 |
| Manchester | 553,486 | 23.1 | 19.7 | 25.8 | 22.0 |
| Birmingham | 533,039 | 20.5 | 17.8 | 22.1 | 19.2 |
| Leeds | 443,559 | 19.6 | 16.6 | 21.4 | 18.1 |
| Sheffield | 425,528 | 20.1 | 18.6 | 21.7 | 20.1 |
| Bristol | 338,895 | 17.6 | 14.3 | 18.1 | 14.7 |
| Bradford | 283,412 | 18.1 | 16.4 | 20.0 | 18.1 |
| West Ham | 281,894 | 18.4 | 15.3 | 19.7 | 16.4 |
| Hull | 249,639 | 19.2 | 169 | 19.7 | 17.3 |
| Nottingham | 245,985 | 18.5 | 16.9 | 19.5 | 17.8 |
| Salford | 226,480 | 23.1 | 19.0 | 25.5 | 21.0 |
| Newcastle | 222,241 | 21.1 | 19.2 | 22.8 | 20.7 |
| Leicester | 220,272 | 17.4 | 14.2 | 18.6 | 15.2 |
London had therefore (comparing the corrected death-rates) in the decennium 1893-1902
a lower death-rate than any of these towns except Bristol, West Ham, Hull, Nottingham and
Leicester, and in 1903 a lower death-rate than any except Bristol, West Ham and Leicester
The following table enables comparison to be made of the death-rates of London with the
death-rates of several foreign cities3—
| Towns | 1893-1902. | 1903. | Towns. | 1893-1902. | 1903. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 18.93 | 15.72 | St Petersburg | 27.0 | 23.8 |
| Paris | 19.8 | 17.9 | Berlin | 18.3 | 16.5 |
| Brussels | 17.5 | 15.2 | Vienna | 21.3 | 18.6 |
| Amsterdam | 16.6 | 14.0 | Rome | 19.3 | 19.8 |
| Copenhagen | 18.0 | 15.9 | New York | 20.2 | 18.2 |
| Stockholm | 17.3 | 144 |
It will be seen that in the period 1893-1902 the London death-rate exceeded that of any of
these towns except Paris, St Petersburg, Vienna, Rome, and New York, while in 1903 it was
lower than that of any except Brussels, Amsterdam, and Stockholm.
The death-rate for London in 1903 is the lowest on record. It will be seen, however, from
the tables published in the report that the low death-rate has not been peculiar to London; indeed,
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 London but occurring in London institutions
situated outside the Administrative County.
2 Including deaths of Londoners in the Metropolitan Workhouses, Hospitals and Lunatic Asylums outside the County of London,
but excluding deaths of non-Londoners in the Willesden Workhouse, the London Fever Hospital, the Metropolitan Asylums Board's
Hospitals and the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, within the County of London.
3 All death-rates in this report relating to foreign cities are calculated upon figures published by the Registrar-General.