Widespread scarcity of food followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality

concept

Saint Benedict of Nursia: after he has assured the monks of his monastery that God would not let them starve, several sacks of corn appear, which porters carry into the monastery. Line engraving by G. Giovannini after L. Massari.

M0014873: Group of emaciated men during the famine in Bangalore (Bengaluru), 1876-78

Les Delices de Leide, Pieter van der Aa, 1712

SEM Phytophthora spores on rye grass root

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping through the clouds. Woodcut, 16th century.

A skull; representing starving Germans who can be helped by the Netherlands Red Cross. Lithograph by A. van der Vossen, 1922 (?).

Diseased potatoes ... / Andrew Ure.

People in Bangalore, India, suffering from starvation. Wood engraving, 1877.

You've been fed, hand drawn illustration

The Great Irish Famine / prepared for the Economic History Society by Cormac Ó Gráda.

The siege of Leiden in 1574: starving people dying, people killing dogs for food etc. Line engraving.

Famine : social crisis and historical change / David Arnold.

The famine in Mayo, 1845-1850 : a portrait from contemporary sources / compiled and edited by Ivor Hamrock.

Tears from iron : cultural responses to famine in nineteenth-century China / Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley ; with a foreword by Cormac Ó Gráda.

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his counry. [sic]

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his country. By a friend to liberty, peace and justice

Galleries and Reading Room

Library

Shop

Café

We're experiencing some technical problems in the library today. 

If you’re visiting us, you won’t be able to print or use our PCs or laptops. If you want to sign-up for a free library membership, we’ll give you a temporary card for today and complete your membership next time you visit.

You can access items from the collection as usual and our team is on hand to help. Thank you for your patience while we resolve these issues. 

We're running paid user research studies to improve Wellcome Collection online

Take part in research

Famine

Images from the collections

Images about Famine

Works from the collections

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his counry. [sic]

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his country. By a friend to liberty, peace and justice

Famine

Images from the collections

Images about Famine

Works from the collections

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his counry. [sic]

Le tocsin! or the address of Citizen Famine!!! to the oppressors of his country. By a friend to liberty, peace and justice

Related topics