Smallpox in London Seminar
Friday 28 November 2014
10am – 4pm
London Metropolitan Archives
This one-day seminar looks at the outbreaks of smallpox in London during the 19th century, the maps that were produced to investigate the outbreaks and what society can take
from archival records today.
With funding from the Wellcome Trust, the London Metropolitan Archives has conserved and digitised 5 large (4 X 3 metres) maps that plot the 1870s smallpox epidemics. The series
of maps were created for the Royal Commission on Smallpox and Fever Hospitals to show “from what parts of the Metropolis the cases of Small-Pox came.” They plotted outbreaks of smallpox in relation to the fever and isolation hospitals.
The seminar will look at epidemics behind the maps, isolation hospitals, the maps themselves and putting the historic case study into a contemporary perspective.
Guest Speakers include:
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Professor Logie Barrow, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Bremen “Topographies of fear: Victorian smallpox and isolation-hospitals”
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Chris Grundy, Lecturer in Geographical Information Systems, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine “Public health mapping, where do the London smallpox maps
fit in”
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Anne Barrett, College Archivist & Corporate Records Manager, Imperial College
There will be a chance to see one of the original smallpox maps and other contextual archive material and maps from the collections of the London metropolitan Archives and
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The event is free, but places are limited. For more information, or to book, please contact [log in to unmask]
Howard Benge
Development Officer
London Metropolitan Archives
City of London
Tel: 020 7332 3851