The 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera which occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1853 as part of the third cholera pandemic. It killed about 4,800 people.
The 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera which occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1853 as part of the third cholera pandemic. It killed about 4,800 people.
Medical professionals had since the 1840s warned against the dismal sanitary conditions in the city as a combination of a lack of proper sanitary installations and services and increasing overpopulation due to the ban of urban development outside the City Walls. [1]
The outbreak struck on 11 June 1853 and lasted until October when it faded out. A total of 7,219 infections were reported of whom 4,737 (56,7%) died. From Copenhagen the outbreak spread to the provinces where 24 towns were hit and 1,951 people died. [2]
The cholera outbreak was a key factor in the decision to decommission Copenhagen's fortifications, although the step was long overdue and had been underway for decades. The cholera outbreak also contributed to the city's decision to build a new cattle market, the so-called Brown Meat District, and a safer municipal water supply.[ citation needed ]
It also resulted in several housing developments built by philanthropic organisations to provide healthy homes outside the city centre for people of few means. The Medical Society completed the first stage of the housing development now known as Brumleby in Østerbro in 1857. They are considered Denmark's first example of social housing. The Classenske Fideicommis acquired a three-hectare site in Frederiksberg in 1856 and constructed the Classen Terraces (De Classenske Boliger) between 1866 and 1881. [3]
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea lasting a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. Diarrhea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This may result in sunken eyes, cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. Dehydration can cause the skin to turn bluish. Symptoms start two hours to five days after exposure.
Frederik IX was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972.
The University of Copenhagen is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala University.
The miasma theory is an abandoned medical theory that held that diseases—such as cholera, chlamydia, or the Black Death—were caused by a miasma, a noxious form of "bad air", also known as night air. The theory held that epidemics were caused by miasma, emanating from rotting organic matter. Though miasma theory is typically associated with the spread of contagious diseases, some academics in the early nineteenth century suggested that the theory extended to other conditions as well, e.g. one could become obese by inhaling the odor of food.
Horsens is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 63,903 and the municipality's population is 97,392, making it the 7th largest city in Denmark.
Vesterbro is one of the 15 administrative, statistical, and city tax districts (bydele) comprising the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 3.76 km2 (1.45 sq mi), and has a population of 51,466 and a population density of 13,688 per km2.
Vestre Cemetery is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark.
The International Sanitary Conferences were a series of 14 international meetings held in response to growing concerns about human disease epidemics. The first of the Sanitary Conferences was organized by the French Government in 1851 to standardize international quarantine regulations against the spread of cholera, plague, and yellow fever. In total 14 conferences took place from 1851 to 1938; the conferences played a major role in the formation of the Office international d'hygiène publique before World War II, and the World Health Organization in 1948.
The fifth cholera pandemic (1881–1896) was the fifth major international outbreak of cholera in the 19th century. The endemic origin of the pandemic, as had its predecessors, was in the Ganges Delta in West Bengal. While the Vibrio cholerae bacteria had not been able to spread to western Europe until the 19th century, faster and improved modes of modern transportation, such as steamships and railways, reduced the duration of the journey considerably and facilitated the transmission of cholera and other infectious diseases. During the fourth 1863–1875 cholera pandemic, the third International Sanitary Conference convened in 1866 in Constantinople had identified religious pilgrimages to be "the most powerful of all causes" of cholera and again Hindu and Muslim pilgrimages were an important factor in the spread of the disease.
Events from the year 1914 in Denmark.
Seven cholera pandemics have occurred in the past 200 years, with the first pandemic originating in India in 1817. The seventh cholera pandemic is officially a current pandemic and has been ongoing since 1961, according to a World Health Organization factsheet in March 2022. Additionally, there have been many documented major local cholera outbreaks, such as a 1991–1994 outbreak in South America and, more recently, the 2016–2021 Yemen cholera outbreak.
Arbejdernes Byggeforening was a Danish building society founded in Copenhagen in 1865 to provide healthy homes for the city's workers, especially those from the Burmeister & Wain factory. At the time of its foundation, the society had just 200 members but it grew fast, reaching 16,000 in 1890, and peaking at 26,342 members in 1955.
Brumleby is an enclave of terraced houses in Copenhagen, Denmark, located between Øster Allé and Østerbrogade, just south of Parken Stadium and St. James' Church. Built for indigent workers by the Danish Medical Association from 1854 to 1872, it is one of the earliest examples of social housing in Denmark and became a model for later projects.
Events from the year 1853 in Denmark.
Johan Frederik Classen, frequently also J. F. Classen, was a Danish-Norwegian industrialist, major general, landowner and founder of Det Classenske Fideicommis. He served as chancellery adviser to King Frederik V. Classen built the manor house Arresødal in 1773, he renovated the Neoclassical manor house Corselitze in 1777, and built the General's Summerhouse by the Corselitze Forest.
Godthaab Church is a Church of Denmark parish church situated on Nyelandsvej in the northern part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Godthaab Parish takes its name from Godthaabsvej, the principal artery of the area.
Vester Farimagsgade, Nørre Farimagsgade and Øster Farimagsgade is a succession of streets which together connect the south-western Vesterbro to the northern Østerbro along the periphery of the city centre in Copenhagen, Denmark. A continuation of Reventlowsgade, Vester Farimagsgade extends from Vesterbrogade at Vesterport Station and initially runs along the sunken railway tracks on the left before soon reaching H. C. Andersens Boulevard. It then turns into Nørre Farimagsgade and continues behind Ørsted Park to Gothersgade where it becomes Øster Farimagsgade and proceeds along another green space, the Copenhagen Botanical Garden, passes Sølvtorvet and the neighbourhood of terraced houses known as Kartoffelrækkerne before terminating at Lille Triangel where Østerbrogade begins.
Ilia Fibiger was a Danish writer and playwright as well as Denmark's first professional nurse. She was the elder sister of writer and feminist Mathilde Fibiger.
Our Saviour's Cemetery is located at the corner of Amagerbrogade and Prags Boulevard in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Carl Johan Albrecht Løffler was a Danish decorative painter. He died in the 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak.