1665–1666Primary sourceWell documented
The Great Plague of London
On the timeline · around 1665–1666 · Plague and Pestilence
What happened
The last great outbreak of bubonic plague in England struck London in 1665, killing roughly a quarter of the city's population within eighteen months. The wealthy fled to the countryside while the poor bore the brunt; the epidemic finally faded the following year, around the time of the Great Fire of London.
Why it matters
The Great Plague was the final major eruption of the centuries-long second plague pandemic in Britain, and the quarantine measures and bills of mortality it produced are milestones in the early history of public health record-keeping.
Sources
- The National Archives (UK). The Great Plague of 1665–1666 · Primary source