human progress lesson

Heroes of Progress, Pt. 45: John Snow

This lesson is about John Snow, an English physician and pioneer in anesthesia and epidemiology. Snow’s groundbreaking work led to the widespread adoption of anesthesia as well as a significant improvement in public health around the world.

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Heroes of Progress

13-part unit
  • Tu Youyou
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 25: Tu Youyou

    In this article, Alexander C. R. Hammond explains how Tu Youyou’s discovery of artemisinin was “arguably the most important pharmaceutical intervention in the last half [of the 20th] century.”

  • Richard Cobden
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 9: Richard Cobden

    Cobden’s work turned Britain, the global hegemon at the time, into a free trading nation – an act that set in motion global trade liberalization that has lifted millions of people out of poverty.

  • John Snow
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 45: John Snow

    This lesson is about John Snow, an English physician and pioneer in anesthesia and epidemiology. Snow’s groundbreaking work led to the widespread adoption of anesthesia as well as a significant improvement in public health around the world.

  • James Watt
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 13: James Watt

    Some historians believe that the Industrial Revolution has been the most fundamental change in human life since the Neolithic Revolution, when prehistoric humans turned from hunting and gathering to agriculture. James Watt was a key figure in this transformation.

  • Alan Turing
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 34: Alan Turing

    In this lesson, students will learn about the tragic life of mathematical genius and key founder of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, Alan Turing.

  • Kate Sheppard
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 27: Kate Sheppard

    In this lesson, students will learn about the extraordinary life of Kate Sheppard, the inspirational suffragist whose tireless work and petitioning of New Zealand’s parliament in the latter half of the 19th century is largely credited for the nation becoming the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in 1893.

  • astell and wollstonecraft
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 46: Astell and Wollstonecraft

    In this lesson, students will learn about the lives and legacies of Mary Astell and Mary Wollstonecraft, two feminist authors whose philosophical ideas helped form the basis for later movements for gender equality and female empowerment.

  • green borlaug
    Heroes of Progress: Norman Borlaug

    In this lesson, you’ll explore the life of Norman Borlaug, Ph.D. using text and video and consider the lessons we can apply from his story to our own lives and to current world problems.

  • Rosemary Fike
    Rosemarie Fike: Women and Progress

    Rosemarie Fike is an instructor of economics at Texas Christian University and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute. Her research focuses on understanding the effects of different types of economic institutions on women’s status and lives.

  • Lucy Wills cover
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 28: Lucy Wills

    In this lesson, students will learn about Lucy Wills, a pioneering physician‐​researcher who discovered the link between inadequate nutrition and anemia in pregnant women.

  • Babbage and Lovelace hero
    Heroes of Progress, Pt. 49: Babbage and Lovelace

    In this lesson, students will learn about the lives and legacies of two 19th‐​century mathematicians and computing pioneers: Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace. These two English polymaths conceived the first automatic computer and recognized that it could have applications beyond mere calculation. Together, they laid the groundwork for modern computing.

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This lesson is about John Snow, an English physician and pioneer in anesthesia and epidemiology. Snow’s groundbreaking work led to the widespread adoption of anesthesia as well as a significant improvement in public health around the world. Snow was the first to demonstrate the link between contaminated water and the spread of cholera. As a result, he advocated for clean drinking water and sewers. Eventually, these innovations were adopted around the world, “thus likely saving millions of lives.”

Warm‐​Up

  • What is cholera? Fortunately, many of us are not familiar with the disease. Cholera is an extremely dangerous water‐​borne disease caused by bacteria. Watch this video about how to prevent cholera. After watching the video, in partners, small groups, or as a whole class, respond to the following questions:
    • What causes cholera?
    • How can cholera be prevented?
    • As shown in the video, how is cholera not just a health problem but also a social and political one

  • What is epidemiology? Watch this video from a university epidemiology program, and then answer the following questions:
    • What do epidemiologists do?
    • Why do you think a student would be interested in becoming an epidemiologist?
    • Are you interested in a career in epidemiology or public health?

Questions for Reading, Writing, and Discussion

Read the article, and then answer the following questions:

  • In your opinion, what impact did the 1832 cholera epidemic have on Snow’s career and life choices?
  • Snow grew up in a poor neighborhood. How do you think his background helped him when he needed epidemiological information from the residents of the London district afflicted with cholera?
  • Snow was a meticulous researcher. Describe three instances mentioned in the article that demonstrate how Snow’s dogged experimentation resulted in useful scientific discoveries.
  • Contextualize Londoners’ reactions to the cholera outbreaks of the mid‐​1800s. Why would 19th century Britons believe that “miasma” was the cause of the outbreak?
  • Identify the methods Snow used to collect information on victims of the outbreak.
  • Make a connection. Snow abstained from alcohol and was a vegetarian—a rarity during his era. Think of another historical example in which a person’s occupation, religious affiliation, dietary choices, or other marker of identity or habit made them an exception to the predominant habits of the period.
  • Authorities at the time of the cholera outbreak removed the handle of the Broad Street pump. This dramatically reduced infections. Compare the methods used to fight the 1854 cholera outbreak with those used against the Black Death of the mid‐​1300s. What was different? What was the same?

Extension Activity/​Homework

  • Make a Presentation about a Global Problem
    Does cholera still exist today? Sadly, yes. According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 million to 4.3 million people suffer from cholera and 21,000 to 143,000 people die of the disease each year.

    One of the main causes of cholera and other diarrheal diseases is poor sanitation. Over 3 billion people—46% of the world’s population—lack access to safely managed sanitation. This is a massive problem, and something needs to be done to solve it.

    UNICEF is one organization that is working to give children clean drinking water and proper sanitation. Go to UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) website and do the following:
    • Read the introductory paragraphs and key facts.
    • Choose one of the eight topics to investigate: Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, WASH and climate change, WASH in emergencies, Strengthening WASH systems, WASH in urban areas, WASH in schools, or WASH in health‐​care facilities.
    • Make a Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation summarizing the specific problem UNICEF is addressing and describe the organization’s response. Use your own words. Do not copy and paste text without properly citing it. Include images on each slide.
    • Create three to five original questions about the information in your presentation. Ask open‐​ended questions that will stimulate thought and discussion. Avoid questions that just ask students to regurgitate information.
    • Make a screen recording of your presentation or give a mini lecture to your class.