Great Plague of London
pandemic lasting from 1665 to 1666, last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the Great Plague of London (1665-1666), the disease called the bubonic plague killed about 200,000 people in London, England.[1] In seven months, almost one quarter of London's population (one out of every four Londoners) died from the plague. At its worst, in September 1665, the plague killed 7,165 people in one week.[1] After this, the number of people dying from the plague began to slow down.
Details | |
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Disease | Bubonic plague epidemic |
Dates | 1665-1666 |
Spread by | Fleas who bit infected rats, then bit people |
Victims | |
Deaths | About 200,000 (1/4 of London's population.[1] |
Killed more of England's population than World War I or World War II.[2][3][4] | |
Around September 1666, the great outbreak ended. The Great Fire of London, which happened on 2-6 September 1666, may have helped end the outbreak by killing many of the rats and fleas who were spreading the plague.
Though most of the people who died during the Great Plague lived in London, the plague also killed people in other areas of England. By the time the Great Plague ended, about 2.5% of England's population had died from the plague.[2] To compare, about 2% of the entire United Kingdom's population (including soldiers and civilians) died in World War I,[3] and about 1% of the entire United Kingdom's population died in World War II.[4]