1889–1890Reputable sourceWell documented
The Russian Flu: The First Modern Pandemic
On the timeline · around 1889–1890 · The Rise of Medicine
What happened
In 1889 a wave of influenza spread out of Central Asia and swept the globe in a matter of months, carried along the new networks of railways and steamships. The 'Russian flu' reached across Europe and the Atlantic to the Americas, killing about a million people and striking down key workers and public figures.
Why it matters
Often called the first modern pandemic, the Russian flu showed how the railways, steamships, and telegraphs of the industrial age could carry a disease around the world faster than ever before — the pattern every later pandemic would follow.