Influenza pandemic of 1918–1920
- Date
- 1918–1920
- Category
- Social & demographic
- Region
- Global
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, caused by an H1N1 virus and commonly called the 'Spanish flu', was the deadliest pandemic of the modern era.
Spreading in roughly three waves from early 1918, it infected an estimated one-third of the world's population and killed at least 50 million people worldwide, with some estimates ranging from around 17 million to as high as 100 million. Unusually, it caused high mortality among healthy young adults. Wartime conditions — massive troop movements, crowded camps, censorship that suppressed reporting in combatant nations (the neutral Spanish press's coverage gave the misleading 'Spanish' name) — accelerated its global spread along the networks of a world at war. It struck every inhabited continent, with especially severe mortality in India (where deaths may have exceeded ten million) and other parts of Asia and Africa. The pandemic profoundly affected demographics, public health systems, and societies already strained by the First World War.
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Empires active in 1918–1920
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- German Empire1871 CE – 1918 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related social & demographic events
- The Holocaust and the 'Final Solution'1941–1945
- Bengal Famine of 19431943–1944
- Emancipation of the serfs in Russia3 March 1861 (19 February O.S.)
- The Great Irish Famine1845–1852
- UK Representation of the People Act enfranchises women6 February 1918
- May Fourth Movement in China4 May 1919
Further reading
If you read one book
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
The definitive popular history of the 1918 flu.
Get it on Amazon →Also worth reading
- Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World — Amazon →
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World
Global, humane account of the pandemic's reach and lasting legacy.
Get it on Amazon →
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