Remembering Julius Jacobson
1927 – 2022
The Ruth J. and Maxwell Hauser & Harriet and Arthur H. Aufses, Jr., M.D., Department of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai mourns the passing of Dr. Julius H. Jacobson, II, a beloved colleague and friend. He was not only an accomplished surgeon, but an educator, author, philanthropist and innovator. Dr. Jacobson practiced vascular surgery at Mount Sinai for 54 years – 35 of which he served as chief of vascular surgery before he retired in 2018 as director emeritus of vascular surgery and distinguished service professor of surgery at Mount Sinai.
He is called "the father of microsurgery" for having developed the first microscope to allow the surgeon and first assistant to view a magnified operative field simultaneously. This innovation changed the fundamental approach to surgery and helped further advance research investigations. Dr. Jacobson's microscope invention, the "diploscope," now resides in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
Along with his wife Joan, Dr. Jacobson was a generous philanthropist who supported a number of programs and institutions including The University of Toledo, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1947. Their contributions to the University include the Joan and Julius H. Jacobson II Center for Clinical and Translational Research, established in 2009, as well as an endowed professorship in biomedical research.
Dr. Jacobson was born in Toledo before also living in Chicago, Detroit and New York.
He is survived by his daughter Wendy (Andrew H. Miller), son William (Elizabeth), four grandchildren and one great granddaughter. He is also survived by his stepchildren Fred Cowett (Diana), and Anne Cowett, and two step-grandchildren.
Portions excerpted from legacy.com
