Why did the 1858 Great Stink happen?

For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital’s waste and as the population grew, so did the problem. The hot summer of 1858 elevated the stench to an unbearable level and resulted in an episode known as ‘The Great Stink’.

Who Solved the Great Stink?

One of the most vocal and well-known supporters of Thames reform was an English chemist and physicist named Michael Faraday. He staunchly supported a complete reformation of the toxic river, so much so that after a boat ride along its surface, he composed and sent a letter to the editor of The Times newspaper.

How many died in the Great Stink?

1858 The ‘Great Stink’, the River Thames became so polluted that Parliament had to stop meeting because of the smell. 1866 Fourth Cholera epidemic resulted in 6,000 deaths. 1871 Local Government Board set up to supervise local authorities and to take general responsibility for public health.

What year was the big stink?

June 1858
Great Stink/Start dates

How did they fix the Great Stink?

The government’s response during the early days of the stink was to douse the curtains of the Houses of Parliament in chloride of lime, before embarking on a final desperate measure to cure lousy old Father Thames by pouring chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid directly into the water.

What caused parliament to close in the summer of 1858?

The Great Stink was an event in Central London in July and August 1858 during which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames.

How dirty was London in the 14th century?

An episode of the 2011 BBC TV documentary Filthy Cities describes the streets of London in the 1300s. They were ankle-deep in a putrid mix of wet mud, rotten fish, garbage, entrails, and animal dung. People dumped their own buckets of faeces and urine into the street or simply sloshed it out the window.

What did people believe caused the Great Stink?

The source of what’s now known as the Great Stink was the River Thames, into which the city’s sewers emptied. Then, in the summer of 1858, a heat wave hit the city and caused the extraordinary amount of waste within the river to ferment, which made the river smell worse than it ever had before.

How did they solve the great stink?

How dirty was Victorian England?

In the 19th century, London was the capital of the largest empire the world had ever known — and it was infamously filthy. It had choking, sooty fogs; the Thames River was thick with human sewage; and the streets were covered with mud.

Why was London called the Great Stink of 1858?

The media started calling this “ The Great Stink “. The magazine, The Illustrated London News talked about how Great Britain could build colonies, conquering nations etc but was incapable of cleaning the river Thames. The stench from the river disrupted the functioning of the Parliament.

Who was the silent highwayman during the Great Stink?

Punch Magazine/Wikimedia Commons The silent highwayman: Death rows on the Thames, claiming the lives of victims who have not paid to have the river cleaned up, during the Great Stink. [Cartoon from Punch Magazine. July 10, 1858.] In 1858, a powerful stench terrorized London for two months.

What was the name of the movie about the Great Stink?

Great Stink. “The Silent Highwayman” (1858). Death rows on the Thames, claiming the lives of victims who have not paid to have the river cleaned up.

What did the government do about the stink in 1857?

In 1857, the stench from the river was so appalling that the government arranged for chalk lime, chloride of lime and carbolic acid to be poured into the waterways to mitigate the disgusting odour. February 1858 saw a change of government and the coming months only led to further deterioration of the Thames.