Although Galveston has not been visited by a yellow
fever epidemic since 1867 - twenty-two years ago - it was not at
all uncommon during the early history of the city. The first epidemic
took place in 1839, and some twenty cases occurred before the physicians
were able to recognize that disease. There is not space in this
article to more than give the dates of the different epidemics,
the estimated population of the city, and the number of deaths resulting
from the disease which will be found tabulated below:
Year |
Date |
Population |
Deaths |
1839 |
Sept. 20 |
1,000 |
250 |
1844 |
July 5 |
3,500 |
400 |
1847 |
Oct. 1 |
4,800 |
200 |
1853 |
Aug. 9 |
6,000 |
535 |
1854 |
Aug. 4 |
7,000 |
404 |
1858 |
Aug. 28 |
9,000 |
378 |
1859 |
Sept. 17 |
9,500 |
182 |
1864 |
Sept. 1 |
5,000 |
259 |
1867 |
July 28 |
18,000 |
1150 |
Ben C. Stuart, in The City's Story,
Galveston News, Tuesday, June 4, 1889
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