National Public Health Act is passed in England. A model plumbing code was enacted that most of the world has adapted and continues to follow. Parliament in London, England, was suspended for a short time because of the unbearable stench of the Thames River. Prince Albert died of typhoid fever as well as thousands of others. Sanitation soon became a public concern.
In 1848, England passed the National Public Health Act, which would become a model plumbing code for the world to follow. It mandated some kind of sanitary arrangement in every house, whether a flushing toilet, or a privy, or an ash pit. The government also released 5 million British pounds for sanitary research and engineering, and began to build a sound sewer system. 