Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons: Special Topics: Engineering Boston: Public Health

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Internet Resources on Public Health in Boston

"Washing the Great Unwashed:" Public Baths in Urban America
Author Marilyn Thornton Williams recounts the history of public bathing in Boston and Chicago. Downloadable in PDF format.
Annual Reports of the Board of Health of the City of Boston (1873-1922)
Historical reports on disease and efforts to control disease in the City of Boston.
The Anti-Spitting Campaigns Designed to Stop the Spread of Tuberculosis
An article on the NYC anti-spitting campaign to stop the spread of tuberculosis. Similar campaigns were undertaken in major cities throughout the U.S., including Boston.
Aw, Rats! Boston’s Rats Are in Charge. We Just Live Here.
This 2018 Boston Magazine article discusses the extent of the city's rodent problem and efforts to control it.
Bills of Mortality, 1810-1849
Vital statistics for the city of Boston, with information on public health and causes of death.
Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC)
The BPHC is the nation's oldest public health department and is tasked with promoting and providing health services to the city's residents.
Boston Takes a Bath, Part I
Boston Takes a Bath, Part II
The Collection and Disposal of Municipal Waste (1908)
Examines methods of waste collection, disposal, and incineration employed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Consumption: A Curable and Preventable Disease (1903)
A guide to the causes, signs, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis for the general reader.
The Boston Smallpox Epidemic, 1721
Provides a brief overview of the controversy surrounding inoculation against smallpox, as well as access to primary source materials
A History of Public Health
Chapter 3 of a 1988 report called 'The Future of Public Health" by the Institute of Medicine. Discusses the importance of Lemuel Shattuck's "Report of the Sanitary Commission of Massachusetts" (1850).
A History of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn (1860)
An early history of the nation's first garden cemetery, dedicated in 1831. It provided a pleasant alternative to Boston's overcrowded and unsanitary burial grounds.
The Horse vs. Health (1908)
In this article from Appleton's Magazine, Harold Bolce provides an economic and public health argument against dirt roads and the use of horses in American cities.
Report of the Joint Special Committee on Intramural Interments (1879)
This report provides histories of the city's ancient burial grounds. It also recommends that these cemeteries be closed and that no future burials be permitted within the city.
Report on the Asiatic Cholera in Boston, 1849
Describes the living conditions of Bostonians, the progress of the disease, and the steps taken to combat it.
Revolutionary Engines: How Cars Saved the Urban Environment
This article examines the public health problems posed by horses, their urine and manure, and flies in American cities before the advent of the automobile.
A Sanitary Survey of the State (1850)
Also known as "The Shattuck Report," this seminal document is considered a milestone in the history of American public health.
State Sanitation; A Review of the Work of the Massachusetts State Board of Health (1917)
An overview of the agency's first five decades.
Tuberculosis in Massachusetts (1908)
The essays within this report describe the disease and its spread within state-run institutions and within various industries. It also relates various programs to control the disease..
Typhoid Fever; its Causation, Transmission and Prevention (1908)
Typhoid fever is here described as a disease of urbanization and poor sanitary conditions.
The Vital Statistics of Boston (1841)
A compilation by public health pioneer Lemuel Shattuck of Boston's Bills of Mortality.
Vital Statistics of Boston and Philadelphia (1895)
A compilation of vital statistics gathered for six years, ending on May 31, 1890.

Books and E-books on Public Health in Boston

The Cholera Years: The United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866 by Charles E. Rosenberg
Call Number: 614.514 .R67 1987

ISBN: 0226726770

Publication Date: 1987
The Pox and the Covenant: Mather, Franklin, and the Epidemic That Changed America's Destiny by Tony Williams
Call Number: 614.521 .W55 2010

ISBN: 1402236050

Publication Date: 2010
The Sanitary City by Martin V. Melosi
Call Number: eBook

ISBN: 9780822973379

Publication Date: 2008