[WalterBright]

> Life expectancy for most of human existence, and right up until early 1900s, was mid-50s.

LE in the US started ramping up around 1800 and increased all through the 1800s.

[judge2020]

Regarding white male life expectancy, it was mostly stagnant:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885717/pdf/nih... (page 44 / table 4)