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 1904
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
1904:
PART I.
The temperature of the year 1904 was slightly below the average in the first quarter, and
slightly above the average in the remaining three quarters of the year. In the first quarter
the rainfall was above and in the remaining three quarters below the average. The marriage rate
(17.0) was only 0.1 per 1,000 living above the lowest marriage rate on record in London, viz., the
marriage-rates of the years 1887 and 1888. The birth rate (27.9) was the lowest on record, and the
death rate (16.1) was the lowest recorded in any year except 1903. The number of deaths from
diseases of the respiratory system were below the average of the preceding ten years, and deaths
from diarrhceal diseases were above the average. Smallpox of a mild type, as judged by the casemortality,
maintained some degree of prevalence, especially in the eastern, central, and southern
districts, and both scarlet fever and diphtheria manifested the diminished prevalence and case-mortality
which has been conspicuous during recent year3. Measles mortality was below the average of the
period 1841—1904, but exceeded the mortality in the previous year. The mortality from whooping
cough was lower than in 1895, the mortality of that year being at that time the lowest on record.
There was a slight increase in the mortality from phthisis over that of the previous year, but this
increase was trifling in extent. The deaths attributed to cancer showed no sign of diminution, being
in excess of the figures for the preceding year.
Population.
The population of the City of London and each of the metropolitan boroughs, as constituted by the London Government Act of 1899, estimated to the middle of 1904, is shown in the following table—
| Sanitary area. | Estimated population, 1904. | Sanitary area. | Estimated population, 1904. | Sanitary area. | Estimated population, 1904. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddington | 146,975 | Stoke Newington.. | 52,445 | Bermondsey | 129,397 |
| Kensington | 179,236 | Hackney | 226,266 | Lambeth | 310,359 |
| Hammersmith | 117,412 | Holborn | 57,161 | Battersea | 175,465 |
| Fulham | 152,482 | Finsbury | 98,958 | Wandsworth | 257,448 |
| Chelsea | 74,329 | City of London | 23,482 | Camberwell | 268,384 |
| City of Westminster | 177,321 | Shoreditch | 117,033 | Deptford | 113,509 |
| St. Marylebone | 130,337 | Bethnal Green | 130,207 | Greenwich | 101,651 |
| Hampstead | 86,663 | Stepney | 303,791 | Lewisham | 140,401 |
| St. Pancras | 235,936 | Poplar | 169,905 | Woolwich | 123,416 |
| Islington | 341,044 | South wark | 207,937 |
Marriages.
The number of marriages in the Administrative County of London in 1904 (52 weeks) was
39,586, giving an annual rate of persons married of 17'0 per 1,000 living.
The marriage rate in successive periods has been as follows—
| 1851-60 | 20.6 | 1901 | 17.6 |
| 1861-70 | 20.3 | 1902 | 17.8 |
| 1871-80 | 19.1 | 1903 | 17.5 |
| 1881-90 | 17.6 | 1904 | 17.0 |
| 1891-1900 | 17.8 |
The accompanying diagram (I) shows the marriage rate in each year since 1850, in relation to
the mean marriage rate of the period 1851-1904.
In the year 1904 among the males 3.7 per cent, married were under 21 years of age, and
among the females 139 per cent.; the figures for previous years are shown in the following table;
the proportions in England and Wales are also given for the purpose of comparison—
6108 B