1854 DR JOHN SNOW CURES LONDON OF DEADLY CHOLERA
The 1854 Soho cholera outbreak, and the man who solved it
On the evening of 7 September 1854, the eminent doctor John Snow spoke to a council of powerful men. Cholera outbreaks had been ravaging London for the past few years, claiming the lives of almost 15,000 people, but nobody had figured out how to stop it. John Snow, a physician from Yorkshire, saw what none other could see – that the disease was transmitted in water. Presenting his compelling evidence to the local authorities, he convinced them to take action, and they responded by removing the handle of an infected water source. Snow saved many lives that day, but his quest was a long one, and it was far from over.