As more people fell ill at the hands of disease, the people turned to the Miasma Theory created by Chadwick. This theory states that diseases were spread by the foul smell in the air. The opposing theory was the germ theory. It was created by John Snow, and was later proven to be right. He thought that diseases were caused by germ cells that had not been identified yet. People did not believe in this theory. Chadwick thought that if they got rid of the bad odor, then diseases would not spread as rapidly. People then tried to prevent disease by getting rid of foul odor, but this did not work. In 1849 they deposited filth and garbage into the River Thames, and Cholera spread rapidly killing many people. According to the History Learning Site,