Stream 5 - Additional Items
i: Honoring John Snow in England and the USA
ENGLAND
John Snow House at NHS Administrative Headquarter, Durham
The local National Health Service (NHS) administration headquarters in Durham, England (northeastern section of the country) is located in the John Snow House. The NHS is a public health service that provides healthcare to residents of the United Kingdom. The regional NHS headquarters purchased the dwelling in 2007, and named it the "John Snow House" in honor of Dr. John Snow and his historic epidemiological studies of cholera in London.
As seen in the 1856 map below, Durham (gold dot) lies at the center of County Durham (green area). In his early apprentice years, John Snow had spent time in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1827-33, larger red dot) and in Burnopfield (1834, small red dot), the first bordering on County Durham, and the second in County Durham. As a result, John Snow had a historical connection to the region.
Source: Colton, GW. Colton's Atlas of the World, map of England and Wales,(created 1855), J.H. Colton and Company, New York, 1856.
John Snow College at Durham University
While John Snow College was founded in 2001, it roamed for a while, settling in at its present location as part of the University of Durham in 2020. The college's motto is Per scientiam et prudentiam quaere summam, a Latin phrase that translates to seek the highest through knowledge and wisdom. The college emphasizes that the motto reflects Snow's approach, namely seeking the highest good - saving human life - through application of the scientific method.
Dr John Snow is commemorated on campus with a replica of the Broad Street pump at the entrance to the College and uses street names from Snow's Soho neighborhood in London - Broadwick St, Lexington, Hopkins, Carnaby, Bridle, Marshall and Wardour - for streets on campus. Finally, Snow's birthday, March 15, is celebrated each year.
John Snow North Street Gardens Memorial in York
In a description of the memorial to John Snow unveiled in North Street Gardens in 2017, The York Civic Trust wrote of John Snow's early life in York.
John Snow was a physician, a pioneer in the fields of anaesthesia and epidemiology, famed for his tracing of the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho and confirming that it is a waterborne disease. He was born on 15 March 1813 in North Street, York, the eldest of the nine children of William Snow (1783-1846), a labourer in the nearby coalyard, and his wife, Frances Askham (1789-1860). In spite of their humble beginnings in what was one of the poorest parts of the city, both parents were keen that their children should better themselves and do well in life. In this, they succeeded; John became a leader in two medical fields; of his brothers and sisters, two became teachers, one a clergyman, one a colliery manager and one ran a temperance hotel in York.
In an age of high infant mortality, William and Frances lost only one child, George, the youngest of the family, who died aged 18 months in June 1830. By 1819 William had changed his job to become a driver of a horse-drawn delivery cab and was able to buy a house in Queen Street and, later, four more houses and a yard in the same street. These were let to tenants to augment the family income. The 1841 census shows that the family had done so well that William was able to move away from the city and was now a farmer in Rawcliffe, north of York. There is no official record of John’s schooling but it is thought that he may well have attended the Dodsworth School in Bishophill in central York which allotted several places to poor children from the congregation of All Saints’ Church in North Street which the Snow family attended.
Circular memorial plaque, replicas of pump handle and Broad Street pump, with All Saints' Church North Street, the baptism site for John Snow, in the background.
John Snow Lecture Theater and Pump Replica at LSHTM in London
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has a long history. The school was founded in 1899 as the London School of Tropical Medicine, then was renamed and granted its Royal Charter in 1924. Highly distinguished, the school is regularly ranked among the top public health institutions in the world.
The John Snow Society is based at LSHTM. As stated on its website: ""The John Snow Society aims to promote the life and works of Dr John Snow, a pioneer of modern epidemiological method and celebrated anaesthetist.
As outlined in the Constitution, the Society has a serious intent, publishing news, collecting facts and dates related to the life and works of John Snow and organising the Annual Pumphandle Lecture Series, but it also aims to provide a communication network for epidemiologists and those trained in the Snow tradition throughout the world.
The Society issues a publication that shares information about its activities and news related to John Snow.
LSHTM has a lecture theatre named after John Snow, which was opened in 2009 by Anne, Princess Royal, and has a replica of the Broad Street Pump siting in a glass case just outside the John Snow Lecture Theater.
Following the annual Pumphandle lecture sponsored by The John Snow Society, the presenter is asked to remove the handle of a mock Broad Street pump, most fitting in 2015 due to his chosen theme.
2015 Panhandle Lecture, Atul Gawande, MA, MD, MPH and 2006 MacArthur Fellow – presented, "On removing the pumphandle: innovation and implementation."
John Snow House at the RSPH in London
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) was established in 1856 and is an independent campaigning and educational charity dedicated to improving and protecting the health of the public in the United Kingdom and beyond. As part of their mission, they publish two peer-reviewed journals, Public Health and Perspectives in Public Health. The RSPH headquarters in London was named "John Snow House" in honor of epidemiologist John Snow when the building was purchased and occupied in June 2011.
USA
The John Snow Award of the American Public Health Association
Every year, the American Public Health Association gives out The John Snow Award, recognizing an outstanding epidemiologist for "excellence in epidemiologic practice or research."
The recipient of the John Snow award in November 2024 was Amal K. Mitra, MBBS, DrPH, Chair of the Department of Public Health at the Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, TX.
Broad Street Pump, The Dartmouth Institute, New Hampshire
Graphic design created by students and friends.
The MPH class of 2019 at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice gave a replica of the Broad Street Pump as a class gift to the program. With colleagues, they obtained a design of the replicated pump in London, created an electronic 3D model, and had the casting done at a foundry. After attaching a base and plaque, the project was completed.
The plaque at the base reads:
Epidemiology in Action
In 1854, Dr. John Snow collected and analyzed population-level data to trace the source of a deadly cholera outbreak to the Broad Street water pump in London. He convinced authorities to remove the pump handle to make it inoperable, thereby ending the epidemic and saving hundreds of lives. He is considered to be a pioneer in the field of epidemiology. This replica statue of the Broad Street pump is dedicated to the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice from the Class of 2019 Hybrid MPH Students, as a symbol of TDI's (The Dartmouth Institute's) role in shaping the future of public health.
OTHER JOHN SNOW AWARDS
Applied Microbiology International (AMI) John Snow Public Health Innovation Prize
This prize supports excellence in applied microbiology, specifically for work that significantly improves public health and environmental sustainability.
Association of Anaesthetists John Snow Medal for Patient Safety
This medal is awarded in recognition of the significant achievements of an individual who has improved or is improving patient safety.
Columbia University John Snow Professor of Epidemiology
The professorship was established at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2008 as a tribute to the "father of modern epidemiology." The title is intended for a highly distinguished scholar whose work embodies John Snow's spirit of using scientific inquiry to identify and combat disease. Since 2008, the professorship has been held by Professor W. Ian Lipkin, MD, honoring his distinguished career and his pioneering work in epidemiology, notably his development of molecular methods for pathogen discovery and outbreak response.
International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) John Snow Award
The award recognizes outstanding pharmacoepidemiology research by a female student or researcher from a developing country.
Johns Hopkins University John Snow, Inc. Award
Offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, this award provides financial assistance to outstanding second-year master's students in the Department of International Health.
National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) John Snow Anaesthesia Intercalated Awards
Provides financial assistance to medical students interested in anaesthesia and related fields.
Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU #7 ) The John Snow Award
The award intends to recognize excellence in epidemiology and disease surveillance in the local region of the Philippines.
Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) John Snow Scholarship
This scholarship for medical students in Australia and New Zealand aims to promote awareness of public health medicine as a specialty.
Click to continue to Stream 5 - j: Conversation with "The Ghost Map" Author
