Government acted when the germ theory was accepted- 1867 ish
John Snow
Pioneer in surgery and public health
Mocked by doctors
Proved clean water prevented the spread of cholera- it wasn't bad air
Not accepted until people had accepted the germ theory
1849
Chadwick
Wrote a "Report on the sanitary conditions of the laboring population"
Showed how the poor lived in dirty, overcrowded conditions. This caused illness which meant they couldn't work which made them poorer which meant they had to pay higher taxes
Produced a mass of evidence for the Public Health Report
Persuaded people that a reform was needed, but the reform wasn't immediate
Basis for Public Health Act 1848
Influence faded in the 1850s
Personality held him back
1842
William Farr
Used registers of births, deaths and marriages to work out where the death rates were highest and why
Provided the link between high death rate and unhealthy living conditions
Pressure to change
1837
Public health Acts
1848 (not compulsary)
National board of Health
Improvement for the poor
Taxes
Medical officers
1875
Local councils forced to provide:
Water
Public toilets
Proper sewage and drainage systems
Medical officer of Health
The Great Stink and Bazalgette
The "Great Stink" happened in 1858
Hot and no rain- River Thames became smelly
Bazalgette designed and built London's sewage system after the Great Stink
83 miles of main sewage
1100 miles of sewers for each street with a series of major pumping stations
Main work done by 1865 but took another 10 years to be fully completed