The 1957 and 1968 pandemics claimed about 100,000 total combined.
I read on the subject not too long ago, after a PR consultant tried to sell me on the merits of "pandemic planning" as part of a communications plan. The most recent pandemics weren't much more lethal than annual flu outbreaks.
"The 1957 and 1968 pandemics claimed about 100,000 total combined."
Shortly after this bird flu scare became noteworthy, I went to Books A Million and got several on the last bad pandemic, which was in 1918, I think. The books were very enlightening about viruses in general, how they work, how they mutate, how vaccines work, and so on. I would recommend doing this, because it is quite interesting, and very scary. Definitely worth anyone's time.