science · 30 April 1665 · 359 years ago
In 1665, Samuel Pepys made his first diary reference to the Great Plague in London."Great fears of the sicknesses here in the City, it being said that two or three houses are already shut up. God preserve us all." The entries in his diary continue throughout the year, documenting the terrible conditions in the city as many thousands died, until Winter's freezing cold reduced the number of fleas that spread the disease. The symptoms of the plague begin like those of a bad cold. A high fever follows, with vomiting and painful black swellings, called buboes appearing in the groin and under the armpits. His diaries over the period Jan 1660 to May 1669. He also wrote about the Great Fire of London in 1666
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