Here’s a brief overview of some of the most significant epidemics in world history:

Ancient Epidemics

1. The Plague of Athens (430 BCE): During the Peloponnesian War, a plague broke out in Athens, killing an estimated one-third of the population.
2. The Antonine Plague (165-180 CE): A pandemic, likely smallpox or measles, swept through the Roman Empire, killing an estimated 5 million people.
3. The Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE): A pandemic, likely the bubonic plague, devastated the Byzantine Empire, killing an estimated 25 million people.

Medieval Epidemics

1. The Black Death (1346-1353): A pandemic, caused by the bubonic plague, swept through Europe, killing an estimated 75 to 200 million people.
2. The Sweating Sickness (1485-1551): A mysterious disease, likely a viral infection, broke out in Europe, killing an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people.

Early Modern Epidemics

1. The London Plague (1665-1666): A major outbreak of the bubonic plague killed an estimated 100,000 people in London.
2. The Great Plague of Marseille (1720-1722): A plague outbreak killed an estimated 100,000 people in Marseille, France.
3. The Cholera Pandemics (1817-1923): A series of cholera outbreaks spread from India to the rest of the world, killing an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 people.

Modern Epidemics

1. The Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918-1919): A global outbreak of influenza killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
2. The Asian Flu Pandemic (1957-1958): A global outbreak of influenza killed an estimated 1.1 million people worldwide.
3. The HIV/AIDS Pandemic (1981-present): A global outbreak of HIV/AIDS has killed an estimated 35 million people worldwide.
4. The SARS Outbreak (2002-2004): A global outbreak of SARS killed an estimated 774 people worldwide.
5. The Ebola Outbreak (2014-2016): A major outbreak of Ebola in West Africa killed an estimated 11,000 people.
6. The COVID-19 Pandemic (2019-present): A global outbreak of COVID-19 has killed an estimated 6.5 million people worldwide.

Key Figures

1. Galen (129-216 CE): A Greek physician who wrote extensively on medicine and epidemics.
2. Edward Jenner (1749-1823): An English physician who developed the smallpox vaccine.
3. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895): A French chemist and microbiologist who developed vaccines for rabies and anthrax.
4. Robert Koch (1843-1910): A German microbiologist who developed the germ theory of disease.
5. Jonas Salk (1914-1995): An American medical researcher who developed the polio vaccine.