Diseases 
What were the top 10 leading causes of death in 1900?
In 1900, pneumonia and influenza, tuberculosis, and enteritis with diarrhea were the three leading causes of death in the United States, and children under 5 accounted for 40 percent of all deaths from these infections (CDC, 1999a).
What was the most common cause of death in 1900?
In 1900, the top 3 causes of death were infectious diseases—pneumonia and flu, tuberculosis, and gastrointestinal infections (a fourth infectious disease, diphtheria, was the 10th leading cause of death).
What was the leading cause of death in 1920?
(per 100,000 population)
| Year | Tuberculosis, all forms | Influenza and pneumonia |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 153.8 | 155.9 |
| 1920 | 113.1 | 207.3 |
| 1930 | 71.1 | 102.5 |
| 1940 | 45.9 | 70.3 |
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What was the worst disease in the 19th century?
Diseases and epidemics of the 19th century included long-standing epidemic threats such as smallpox, typhus and yellow fever. In addition, cholera emerged as an epidemic threat and spread worldwide in six pandemics in the nineteenth century.