Incidents ranged from parental carelessness and neglect to deliberate injury and murders that were reported in the lay and medical press of the time. An examination of data for 476 children under the age of 2 years whose deaths were the subjects of inquests in the latter half of the century indicate the influence of the socioeconomic context; family stress; concepts of morality; particularly attitudes toward illegitimacy and prevailing social mores. Identifiable incidents included infanticide, injury, deliberate neglect, neglect due to ignorance and poverty, and accidents or poisonings where abuse appears to have been a factor. Child abuse stimulated the medical profession, religious bodies, groups of concerned citizens, and eventually the state to intervene to protect and care for endangered children. Results highlight the long-standing nature of child abuse and the importance of social conditions and social and official attitudes in meeting the needs of abused and neglected children. 2 tables and 59 references. (Author abstract modified)