Outbreak in Washington, D. C.: the 1857 Mystery of the National Hotel Disease

An account of the mysterious epidemic among nineteenth-century hotel guests that "enthralled the country and nearly took the life of the-President-elect"(The Washington Post).

The National was once the grandest hotel in the capital. In 1857, it twice hosted President-elect James Buchanan and his advisors, and on both occasions, most of the party was quickly stricken by an acute illness. Over the course of several months, hundreds fell ill, and over thirty died from what became known as th...