Longer Life Expectancies on This Day in History

 
Julian Simon on Progress

This Day in History: Edgar Allan Poe died on this day in 1849 at age 40. Novelist Anne Brontë also died in 1849 at age 29, and Frédéric Chopin also died in 1849 at age 39. These early deaths were not uncommon for the time. The average lifespan for most of history was between 25-30, much of that attributed to high infant mortality. Half of all children died by the age of 8. After that age you had to contend with diseases (parasites, typhoid, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever etc) constant wars and poor healthcare (doctors only began regularly washing their hands before surgery in the mid-1800s). By 1900 the average life expectancy rose to 48. By 1950 it climbed to 67. Today it is about 78. Over the last 200 years people became more wealthy, and wealth promotes health, and extra wealth funds health research. The poorest countries in the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, have the lowest lifespans.