Replying to Richard from a couple posts back... yes, the link still works for me, and I cleared cookies last night, so presumably it loaded a fresh page today. Here are the first few paragraphs:
The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
The Influenza Pneumonia Pandemic of 1918 killed 600,000 people in the United States and more than 25 million people worldwide.
It was called the "Spanish Influenza" because of a large outbreak of the disease that occurred in Spain in May and June of 1918. The influenza may, however, have originated in March 1918 among U.S. soldiers in Kansas; about 500 men there were infected, among whom 48 were listed as having died of "pneumonia". Those who survived the illness may have carried the disease to Europe, where in the summer and fall of 1918 over one and one-half million U.S. soldiers were sent to fight in World War One.
Whatever its origin, by September 1918 the influenza had spread to the civilian population of America. It first reached epidemic size in Boston, and then spread to New York, Philadelphia and beyond, following the railroad lines. 12,000 people died of the influenza in America in September 1918, and a further 195,000 died in October. In fact, the highest death rate in U.S. history occurred in the month of October 1918; the rate was 5 dead for every 100 of the population, or 5 percent.
ps- I was amused that they wanted to clarify "5 out of 100" as being 5%
