Free public presentation on Kingston’s deadly Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918

On Thursday, September 21 at 7:30 pm, the Museum of Health Care at Kingston will present its annual Margaret Angus Research Fellowship evening. This year’s research fellow, Andrew Belyea, will deliver a presentation titled “The Spanish Influenza: Exploring Kingston’s Deadly Epidemic of 1918” at Watson Hall 517, 49 Bader Lane, Queen’s University. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session and a reception with refreshments. Admission is free.

In the fall of 1918, nearing the end of World War I, Kingston suffered from one of the deadliest epidemics in recorded history. As both an important military centre and in a prime geographic location near the St. Lawrence River, Kingston admitted thousands of people in permanent and temporary hospitals during both the war and the Spanish flu outbreak.

Taking place ninety-nine years after the outbreak hit the Kingston region, Belyea’s presentation will tell the story of the Limestone City and its fight to understand, control, and conquer the Spanish influenza. “It’s really interesting how Kingstonians underestimated the epidemic’s impact” says Belyea. “The interacting economic, social, and medical realms made its management quite challenging, which makes this case study something we can learn a lot from,” he adds.

Established in 1997 by the Museum of Health Care and named in honour of local historian Dr. Margaret Angus, the fellowship contributes to the study of the history of medicine and health care based on the Museum’s collections. The 2017 recipient, Andrew Belyea, has a degree in Life Science from Queen’s University and will start at the Queen’s School of Medicine in the fall.

The Museum is grateful to the Trustees of the Estate of Larry Gibson – Graeme Fraser and Jay Rayner – for their generous support of this year’s Margaret Angus Research Fellowship.