John Snow Memorial, North Street Gardens
On 15 March 2017, York Civic Trust unveiled a permanent memorial to Dr John Snow (1813-1858) in North Street Gardens. Snow was a Victorian physician and a pioneer in the fields of anesthesia and epidemiology who is famous for his tracing of the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho and confirming that it is a waterborne disease. He was born in North Street, York in 1813.
The memorial has at its centre a restored Victorian iron hand pump similar to the one from which John Snow removed the handle to prove his theory on the spread of cholera. An information board and a blue plaque to Snow and interpretation board accompany the water pump.
The project was managed by Nick Beilby in partnership with the University of York and York Medical Society.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by descendants of John Snow, including his great-great nephew, Geoff Snow, and followed the Annual John Snow Lecture, given by Dr Stephanie Snow (University of Manchester).
