John Snow - Brompton Cemetery, London, UK
N 51° 29.271 W 000° 11.604
30U E 694848 N 5707813
John Snow, who discovered that cholera was a water borne rather than air borne disease, is interred in Brompton Cemetery in London. As well as his cholera discovery he was also a pioneer in the field of anaesthetics.
Waymark Code: WMN2K8
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/14/2014
Views: 3
The monument that stands on John Snow's grave has three inscription. The top (main) one is worded:
To John Snow MD
Born at York
March 15th 1813
Died in London
June 16th 1858
In remembrance of
his great labours in science
and of the excellence
of his private life
and character
this monument
(with the assent of
Mr William Snow)
has been erected over
his grave
by his professional brethren
and friends.
The middle inscription reads:
Restored in 1895
by Sir Benjamin W Richardson FRCS
and a few surviving friends
The bottom inscription is worded:
Inscription restored in 1938 by members
of the Section of Anaesthetics of the
Royal Society of Medicine and Anaesthetists
in the United States of America
The original memorial to John Snow was destroyed
by enemy action in April 1941. This replica was
erected by the Association of Anaesthetists of
great Britain and Ireland in September 1951
The BBC website tells us about John Snow:
Snow was a British physician who is considered one of the founders of epidemiology for his work identifying the source of a cholera outbreak in 1854.
John Snow was born into a labourer's family on 15 March 1813 in York and at 14 was apprenticed to a surgeon. In 1836, he moved to London to start his formal medical education. He became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1838, graduated from the University of London in 1844 and was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians in 1850.
At the time, it was assumed that cholera was airborne. However, Snow did not accept this 'miasma' (bad air) theory, arguing that in fact entered the body through the mouth. He published his ideas in an essay 'On the Mode of Communication of Cholera' in 1849. A few years later, Snow was able to prove his theory in dramatic circumstances. In August 1854, a cholera outbreak occurred in Soho. After careful investigation, including plotting cases of cholera on a map of the area, Snow was able to identify a water pump in Broad (now Broadwick) Street as the source of the disease. He had the handle of the pump removed, and cases of cholera immediately began to diminish. However, Snow's 'germ' theory of disease was not widely accepted until the 1860s.
Snow was also a pioneer in the field of anaesthetics. By testing the effects of controlled doses of ether and chloroform on animals and on humans, he made those drugs safer and more effective. In April 1853, he was responsible for giving chloroform to Queen Victoria at the birth of her son Leopold, and performed the same task in April 1857 when her daughter Beatrice was born.
Snow died of a stroke on 16 June 1858.
The Find-a-Grave website has an entry for John Snow.