1) Justinian Plague: Started in the year 541 C.E. in Constantinople. 2) The Black Death: Hit Europe in 1347 killing 200 million lives in four years. 3) Great Plague of London: In 1665 100,000 londoners died in seven months. 4) Smallpox: It was not until 1980 that the World Health Organization announced that smallpox was eradicated. 5) Cholera: In the early to mid 19th century tens of thousands were killed by cholera in England. Largely eradicated in developed countries cholera still plagues third world countries because of their lack of access to clean water and an untreated sewer system. Further reading on the history of pandemics