New exhibition on 1918 influenza pandemic

As World War I raged in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa in the spring of 1918, a fierce enemy landed on American shores in the form of the influenza virus. The outbreak would decimate entire regiments and towns, kill civilians and soldiers alike by the millions, and rapidly turn into a global pandemic.  No aspect of life remained untouched for Americans at home or on the front. Our newest exhibition, “America during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic,” explores the outbreak’s impact on American life and the legacy that would forever alter our understanding of epidemiology.

Assembly in College Hall at which students wore hygienic masks, ca. 1918. Brigham Young University via Mountain West Digital Library.

The exhibition was created by the following students as part of Dr. Joan E. Beaudoin’s course “Metadata in Theory and Practice” in the School of Library and Information Science at Wayne State University: Bethany Campbell, Michelle John, Samantha Reid-Goldberg, Anne Sexton, and John Weimer.

View the exhibition

Featured image credit: “Excess Mortality in U.S. Cities During Influenza Epidemic, 1918-19.” Courtesy of the National Museum of Health Otis Historical Archives via the Center for Disease Control.