Water event
Broad Street cholera outbreak
The outbreak in Soho, London, that John Snow traced to a single contaminated water pump — establishing that cholera is waterborne and founding modern epidemiology.
Key facts
- Event type
- Waterborne disease outbreak
- Started
- 1854-08-31
- Ended
- 1854-09-30
Cause
A cesspit leaking into the well supplying the Broad Street pump, contaminated by an infant’s cholera-infected nappy.
Impact
- Over 600 deaths within roughly a week in a small area of Soho
- Mortality concentrated sharply around one water source
Response
John Snow mapped deaths against water sources and persuaded the parish to remove the pump handle. The outbreak was already declining, but the mapping evidence was decisive.
Aftermath
Established the waterborne transmission of cholera against the prevailing miasma theory, and provided the evidential foundation for the sanitary reforms and separated water and sewerage systems that followed.
Relationships
- Located in: England
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Sources
- Peer-reviewed scientific literature — Open-access hydrology, water chemistry and water use research. Public but restricted · Publisher terms — public access, reuse not clearly granted