Between August 1 and November 9, 1793, approximately 11,000 people contracted yellow fever in the US capital of Philadelphia. Of that number, 5,000 people, 10 percent of the city’s population, died. The disease gets its name from the jaundiced eyes and skin of the victims. Other symptoms include fever, headache, and "black vomit" caused by bleeding into the stomach. At the time, it was thought that yellow fever was caused by rotting vegetable matter, and it was believed to be contagious; the disease is actually spread by mosquitos.
