The Influenza Masks of 1918

As people worldwide adapt to living with the threat of COVID-19, and especially as the rate of new cases continues to grow in the United States, the wearing of face masks remains widely recommended, and in many places, mandatory. A century ago, an outbreak of influenza spread rapidly across the world, killing more than 50 million—and possibly as many as 100 million—people within 15 months. The scale, impact, and nature of the disease back then were all very different from today’s pandemic—but the act of wearing a face covering to prevent further contagion became widely adopted, then as now. While some of the masks were made of improper material or were not used properly, most provided some level of protection against transmission by blocking droplets from the nose and mouth. Below, a collection of images from a century ago of people doing their best to keep others and themselves safe.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Lukasz Nowak1 / Getty

    Chile’s Amazing National Parks

    Images of several of Chile’s national parks, encompassing a wide variety of environments

  • Juan Carlos Vindas / Getty

    For Earth Day, a Photo Appreciation of Birds

    A handful of images of the tens of billions of individual animals divided among some 10,000 species, inhabiting nearly every environment on Earth

  • AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Burning Bull, Blue Forest, Olympic Flame

    Eid al-Fitr prayers in India, trophy winners at the Boston Marathon, the burning of a historic building in Denmark, a joyous water festival in Thailand, and much more

  • Adem Altan / Agence France-Presse

    Winners of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest

    Some of the winning and honored entries in this year’s annual photo competition