Final answer:
During Poe's time, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United States, a disease that claimed the lives of many close to him. Historical diseases such as yellow fever and smallpox also caused significant mortality ,disruption until advances in medical science and public health measures, like sanitation and vaccines, mitigated their impact.
Step-by-step explanation:
The very deadly disease during Poe's time that was the leading cause of death in the United States and took the lives of Poe's beloved wife, his mother-in-law, and his brother, was tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, also known as consumption, was a widespread and fatal disease that had a profound impact on society in the 19th century.
Physicians at the time struggled to treat tuberculosis, as the causes and effective treatments were not yet understood. Interestingly, Edgar Allan Poe's work often mirrored the despair and loss caused by such diseases, as seen in the character of the lady Madeline's illness in "The Fall of the House of Usher" which reflects the mysterious and consuming nature of illnesses of the period.
In the broader context of history, diseases like yellow fever and smallpox were also significant causes of death and societal disruption. Yellow fever caused a notable outbreak in 1793 in Philadelphia, killing about 10% of the city's population.
Smallpox was historically one of the most devastating diseases, and concerns about pandemics were as pressing then as they are today, with modern concerns focusing on new outbreaks such as the flu and other contagious diseases.
History shows that before the understanding of germ theory and public health measures like sanitation and vaccines, populations were particularly vulnerable to widespread epidemics such as cholera and the Spanish Flu.