I wrote: > My great grandfather died in 1924 of "frozen lungs". Any thoughts on > exactly what that means? I mean, how does one literally freeze their > lungs? Surely if he froze to death it'd say that instead. > > Does the phrase refer to something else perhaps? Some sort of > respiratory disease maybe? In case anyone else is interested, I uncovered some further documentation about his death. Apparently he sustained frost-bitten lungs during a long livery trip in very cold weather. It didn't kill him, but it did lead to seven years of respiratory problems that got worse and worse until he died. There is some evidence to suggest that he developed tuberculosis near the end (he spent a year or more in a TB ward). Mark

That makes sense to me. If you get badly frost bitten anything, that bit is permanently dead and ceases to function. Often drops off or is surgically removed to prevent healthy tissue dying also. Mary mark@kinweb.org wrote: > > I wrote: > > My great grandfather died in 1924 of "frozen lungs". Any thoughts on > > exactly what that means? I mean, how does one literally freeze their > > lungs? Surely if he froze to death it'd say that instead. > > > > Does the phrase refer to something else perhaps? Some sort of > > respiratory disease maybe? > > In case anyone else is interested, I uncovered some further documentation > about his death. > > Apparently he sustained frost-bitten lungs during a long livery trip in > very cold weather. It didn't kill him, but it did lead to seven years > of respiratory problems that got worse and worse until he died. There is > some evidence to suggest that he developed tuberculosis near the end (he > spent a year or more in a TB ward). > > Mark -- Mary Beaumont. To reply, remove the underscore before mary.