1,552–128,675

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1931

Influenza and Pneumonia (all forms):

— 128,675 U.S. Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Washington: 1935, p. 20.

Influenza:

— 31,701 U.S. Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Washington: 1935, p. 167.

Pneumonia:

— 96,974 U.S. Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Washington: 1935.^[1]

Influenza by State:

— 1,054 AL U.S. Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p. 171.

— 142 AZ “ p. 178.

— 743 AR “ p. 181.

— 806 CA “ p. 188.

— 392 CO “ p. 194.

— 260 CT “ p. 198.

— 71 DE “ p. 202.

— 75 DC “ p. 206.

— 609 FL “ p. 211.

— 1,342 GA “ p. 217.

— 42 HI “ p. 469.

— 99 ID “ p. 223.

— 1,648 IL “ p. 227.

— 1,207 IN “ p. 231.

— 609 IA “ p. 236.

— 525 KS “ p. 240.

— 939 KY “ p. 244.

— 928 LA “ p. 250.

— 233 ME “ p. 256.

— 333 MD “ p. 260.

— 420 MA “ p. 266.

— 813 MI “ p. 270.

— 548 MN “ p. 275.

— 540 MS “ p. 279.

— 1,391 MO “ p. 285.

— 152 MT “ p. 289.

— 320 NE “ p. 292.

— 57 NV “ p. 296.

— 122 NH “ p. 300.

— 544 NJ “ p. 303.

— 149 NM “ p. 305.

— 1,552 NY “ p. 311.

— 1,150 NC “ p. 316.

— 117 ND “ p. 322.

— 1,936 OH “ p. 326.

— 653 OK “ p. 330.

— 160 OR “ p. 336.

— 2,885 PA “ p. 340.

— 95 RI “ p. 345.

— 787 SC “ p. 349.

— 185 SD “ p. 355.

— 1,033 TN “ p. 359.

— ? TX (Texas was the only non-registration State in the 1931 Census report)

— 94 Dallas, TX. U.S. Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Washington: 1935, p. 434-35.

— 66 El Paso, TX “ p. 435.

— 51 Fort Worth “ p. 436.

— 61 Houston, TX “ p. 436-37.

— 110 San Antonio “ p. 437.

— 105 UT “ p. 366.

— 102 VT “ p. 369.

— 1,036 VA “ p. 373.

— 415 WA “ p. 380.

— 577 WV “ p. 384.

— 575 WI “ p. 388.

— 61 WY “ p. 392.

Table 10. Causes of Death, by Month of Occurrence [Influenza only]^[2]

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

5,427 6,971 7,182 4,123 1,967 903 441 483 545 799 1,196 1,664

Influenza and Pneumonia:^[3] (1,831, for five TX registration cities)

–1,831 Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

— 354 Dallas, TX. US Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p. 21.^[4]

— 219 El Paso, TX. US Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p. 21.^[5]

— 511 Fort Worth, TX. US Bureau of Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p. 21.^[6]

— 265 Houston, TX. US Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p.21.^[7]

— 482 San Antonio, TX. US Bureau of Census. Mortality Statistics 1931. Wash., 1935, p.21.^[8]

Narrative Information

U.S. Census: “The number of deaths in 1931 from influenza and pneumonia (all forms) was 128,675, representing a death rate of 107.7 per 100,000 population — a slight increase over 1930 [102.7].^[9] Among the States, the highest rates were shown for Nevada (206.6), South Carolina (160.7), and New Mexico (156.1); and the lowest for Oregon (69.4), North Dakota (73.8), and Michigan (75.9). Among the cities, Pittsburgh (278.7) and El Paso (214.3) had the highest rates; and Long Beach the lowest (52.5).

“In every State for which figures are shown by color the differences in the rates for the white and those for the colored are pronounced. For example, the death rate among the white population of Maryland was 113.8 per 100,000 while that among the colored was 288.6. The difference was also marked in the Kentucky death rates: For the white 111.6; for the colored 248.2. Among the cities showing deaths by color, all had higher rates for the colored. In 22 out of 30 cities the rates were 200 or more per 100,000, with Louisville (369.0) and Dallas (368.1) leading.” (Census 1931, pp. 20-21.)

“There were 96,974 deaths from pneumonia (all forms) in the registration area in 1931, representing a rate of 81.2 per 100,000 population. Of these deaths, 53,093 were due to lobar pneumonia, 39,615 to bronchopneumonia, and 3,773 to pneumonia unspecified. Rates per 100,000 population for the registration area, for cities in the registration States, and for the rural part of registration States showed a decrease in 1931 compared with 1930. This lowering of rates was found in many individual States; in fact, all except 12 States had decreases. The large cities showed similar decreases. In making the comparison with 1920 there was a marked decrease….

“The States having highest rates for the total population in 1931 were: Nevada (144.6) and Maryland (123.2); the States with lowest rates were: Kansas (51.4), Oregon (52.9), and Idaho (54.3). Of the cities of 100,000 population and over, Pittsburgh had a rate of 243.3, Camden, 162.2, and Baltimore, 159.7. Cities with low rates were: Grand Rapids (39.6), Long Beach (42.0), Seattle (54.9), and Flint (55.5).” (U.S. Census. Mortality Statistics 1931, pp. 35-36.)

Sources

United States Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1931 (Thirty-Second Annual Report). Washington: GPO, 1935. Accessed 10-24-2013 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1931.pdf

United States Bureau of the Census. “Table 16. Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1930.” Internet release date: 6-15-1998. Accessed 10-28-2013 at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab16.txt

[1] To derive pneumonia deaths we subtract the 31,701 deaths ascribed to influenza on page 167 from the 128,675 deaths ascribed to influenza and pneumonia (all forms) on page 20. In addition, page 169 gives exact same number by adding 39,615 (bronchopneumonia), 493 (capillary bronchitis, 53,093 (lobar pneumonia), and 3,773 (pneumonia, unspecified).

[2] U.S. Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1931, p. 441.

[3] The State of Texas was not included in the 1931 Census Mortality Statistics, but the cities noted herein were.

[4] Our calculation based on Table AB data of 136.2 influenza and pneumonia death rate for Dallas per 100,000 estimated population. We use 260,475 for 1930 Dallas population from “Population history of Dallas from 1890-1990” at: http://physics.bu.edu/~redner/projects/population/cities/dallas.html

[5] Our calculation based on Table AB data of 214.3 death rate for influenza and pneumonia per 100,000 estimated population for El Paso and Census 1930 population figure of 102,421.

[6] Our calculation based on Table AB data of 110.4 death rate per 100,000 estimated population and Census 1930 population figure of 163,477 at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab16.txt

[7] Our calculation based on Table AB data of 90.7 death rate for influenza and pneumonia for Houston per 100,000 estimated population, and Census figure of 292,352 estimated population for Houston for 1930.

[8] Our calculation based on Table AB data of 161.2 death rate for influenza and pneumonia for San Antonio per 100,000 estimated population and Census estimated 1930 San Antonio population of 231,542.

[9] Table “AB” also shows the death rate per 100,000 estimated population in 1920, which was 208.3. (p. 21.)