Daily AncestorBright's disease
Bright's disease was the 1800s and early 1900s name for chronic kidney inflammation, now called nephritis, often shown by swelling and protein in the urine.
Bright's disease was named for the English physician Richard Bright, who described it in 1827. It meant kidney disease marked by swelling, protein in the urine and kidney damage found at autopsy.
It was a broad historical category. Modern doctors would sort these cases into several kinds of acute and chronic nephritis. It appears frequently on early twentieth-century death certificates.
As seen in a recordCause of death line on an early 1900s death certificate
Cause of death: Bright's disease. Duration: 2 yrs.
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Daily Ancestor. "Bright's disease." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/brights-disease. Last checked 2026-10-01.