430 BC: First recorded instance of bubonic plague hits Athens.
542 AD: Mediterranean epidemic kills between 25-50% of the population of the Roman Empire. Emperor Justinian contracts the disease but survives.
1334-1347: Black Death devastates Europe, spread partly by Crusaders from Constantinople. Three-quarters of the population are killed.
1563: Bubonic plague in London. One-half to one-third of population die.
1665: The Great Plague of London. 20% of the population (100,000) die.
1729-30: Worldwide influenza pandemic. The first officially recorded 'pandemic' (an epidemic of worldwide proportions) in history. Originating in Russia, it spread to Europe and the United States.
1781: Worldwide influenza pandemic. Cited as among the worst in history, there were tens of millions of cases in Europe, North America, Spanish America and the West Indies.
1817-23: First global cholera pandemic. This highly virulent outbreak spread from India across all of Asia.
1829-51: Second cholera pandemic. Spread from Bengal, India to Europe, Japan and the United States. 33,000 deaths were recorded in one 24-hour period in Cairo and Alexander alone.
1852-59: Third cholera pandemic. Multiple sporadic eruptions of the disease killed thousands across the world.
1857-59: Worldwide influenza pandemic.
1863-79: Fourth cholera pandemic.
1881-96: Fifth cholera pandemic.
1889-90: 'Russian flu' pandemic. An estimated 250,000 die in Europe, three times that worldwide.
1899-1923: Sixth cholera pandemic.
1918: 'Spanish flu' pandemic. 20m-40m die worldwide, more than were killed in the first world war. The worst pandemic in history.
1957-1958: 'Asian flu' epidemic. Affects 10-35% of the world population, though with proportionally low mortality rates (100,000 killed).
1961-1970: Seventh cholera pandemic. Some argue that this pandemic is ongoing. In 1991, there were nearly 4,000 deaths in 16 countries in the Americas.
1968-69: 'Hong Kong' flu pandemic. Kills 700,000 worldwide.
1989-90: 29,000 people killed in UK flu epidemic.
1997: 'Avian flu' outbreak in Hong Kong. Six people die.
