why did death compare the years 79 and 1346 with the year 1942 and what important events happened in these years?

If we did a quick check of our history we can see that Death has been pretty busy. Dates of note:

79 Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

1346- bubonic plague

1942- WW2

I'm not sure if Death got overtime or not!

Because Death smells really bad