1813-1858

English Physician, Epidemiologist and Anesthetist

John Snow correctly concluded that cholera was transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated water. Snow came to this conclusion by conducting several epidemiological studies in London, England. He also is known as the father of the science of anesthesiology.

Snow rose to prominence from rather humble beginnings as a farmer's son. He was born in York, England, in 1813, attended local schools, and served as an apprentice to a surgeon. This informal training led him to work as a surgeon's assistant until 1836 when he moved to London in order to pursue the formal study of medicine at the Windmill Street School of Medicine and the Westminster Hospital. Snow was a member of the Westminster Medical Society and gave speeches on typhus, alcoholism, and respiration at the club's meetings. He also was interested in the study of toxicology, or the science of...