Summary

On Thursday evening, the Board of Governors of St. James Parish met to discuss the cholera outbreak. John Snow had asked to speak before them and told the group that he had discovered the source of the outbreak. He provided a cursory summary of his work and how he had determined that the source of the bacteria was water from the Broad Street pump. The Board was skeptical; the Broad Street water was known for its high quality. They were also aware of the horrid odors that lingered over the area and felt they were more responsible. But the Board didn’t want to take any chances – what if Snow was right?

The pump handle was removed on Friday, September 8, a week after the outbreak. Deaths continued for another week. But after several weeks, the epidemic was over. Nearly 700 people...