Edwin Chadwick

• Known for being irascible, hard-working and arrogant, Chadwick can be credited with using his various roles to persuade and even bully the government to invest in public health reform.
• Despite his legal training, limiting finances meant Chadwick began by writing essays for publication in journals like the 'Westminster Review'. They were typically on topics that showed how scientific principles could be applied in various areas of government. This drew the attention of Jeremy Bentham, who Chadwick worked for as his literacy secretary, teaching him about the idea of utilitarianism.
• While working with the Poor Law Commission, Chadwick became convinced of the connection between disease caused by poor public health and pauperism. This could be seen with the typhus epidemic that hit London 1837-38, resulting in a dramatic increase in those applying for poor relief. As a result of the epidemic, East London Poor Law guardians spent money from poor rates on removing filth and prosecuting negligent landlords. It was Chadwick's defense of this which led to the commissioning of his report.
• It was important for Chadwick to select people to work on his investigation that would come up with the solutions he favoured, meaning that any solution they came up with had to recommend: sanitary engineering, the disposal of refuse and the provision of clean water.
• He chose 3 doctors who he had worked with previously:

  • Neil Arnott: Working as a ship's surgeon for the East India Company, he had made considerable progress in identifying connections between 'exotic' diseases like cholera and sanitation.
  • James Kay: Known for reporting on the poor in Manchester.
  • Southwood Smith: Smith had worked for over 10 years at the London Fever Hospital and as a physician to the Eastern Dispensary and the Jews' Hospital in Whitechapel.
• Underlying the initial reports on London, the argument was that no matter how expensive sanitary improvements would be, the cost of pauperism that would result from inaction would be higher. This was explored further in the 'Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain', published in 1842.
• The Tory Government of 1842 effectively rejected Chadwick's report by setting up a Royal Commission. The Royal Commission on the Health of Towns received detailed anecdotal and statistical evidence from Chadwick. The commission's report, published in 1844, upheld all of Chadwick's findings.
• The Public Health Act 1848 set up the General Board of Health, in which Chadwick was appointed one of the board's sanitary commissioners. Once appointed, he was intent on seeing his ideas implemented, such as a supply of clean water and a sewerage system. However, the board was not well liked, so the Houses of Commons only agreed to renew the board's mandate if Chadwick wasn't a commissioner. So, he resigned in 1854.
• Awarded a pension of £1000 per year, Chadwick continued to give voluntary advice on issues concerning sanitation and health. In January 1884, he was appointed the first president of the Association of Sanitary Inspectors.