Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Unknown [An account of the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05942 Author/Creator: Unknown Place Written: Philadelphia Pennsylvania and New York, New York Type: Autograph document Date: 11-14 October 1793 Pagination: 1 p. ; 33.8 x 21.2 cm. Order a Copy

Top half of this document is dated 11 October from Philadelphia. The bottom half is dated 14 October from New York. The Philadelphia report gives a grim account of the yellow fever outbreak. The New York report says 137 were officially buried in Philadelphia last Friday, not including independent burials. A short list of individuals who died on 11 October (including Major [David] Franks) is provided at the very bottom of this document.

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