How many died in the 1848 cholera epidemic?

• A. around 8,000
• B. over 52,000
• C. over 100,000
• D. 25,000

Answer: (B)

This question is about the scale of the 1848 cholera outbreak in Britain. The outbreak struck hard in towns and cities with poor sanitation, leading to a very high death toll before effective public health measures were established. The best-supported figure for England and Wales is just over 52,000 deaths, which shows how deadly cholera could be in that period and why public health reforms were increasingly demanded. The other options underestimate or overestimate what that particular outbreak caused in Britain, so the figure just over 52,000 is the most accurate for that event.