Abraham Jacobi, MD: The Man and His Legacy

In 1963 the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) jointly established the Jacobi Award named after Dr Abraham Jacobi, acknowledged as the founder of pediatrics. He introduced pediatrics as a specialty in the opinions of medical historians. The first recipient was Dr Alexis F. Hartman, Sr, Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University in St Louis.

This tribute to the efforts of Dr Abraham Jacobi reminds us of the very significant dedication that characterized Dr Jacobi's life. He was a most remarkable man of boundless energy and strong convictions.

One year ago, Dr Robert Haggerty gave a very scholarly presentation of Jacobi's personal life and his professional life. Dr Haggerty referred to Jacobi as “a respectable rebel,” in my opinion, a very appropriate description of this remarkable man. Rather than covering many facets of Jacobi's life and career as did Dr Haggerty, it is appropriate that we touch on some aspects of Dr Jacobi's character as a reminder to keep us focused on the development of our specialty, the problems it presented, and also the problems we face today.

Dr Jacobi was born in Hartum, Westphalia, Germany, in 1830. His family was of very limited means; consequently, there were struggles and sacrifices to provide him with his education. His MD was obtained from the University of Bonn in 1851.¹

Jacobi's professional life could have been predicted from his outspoken strong opinions and intolerance of heavy-handed rules. His life was characterized by struggles against the prejudices of new ideas, injustices, and absurdities beginning in his student years.

As a “zealous democrat” he was involved in the cause of the revolutionary activities going on in the 1840s in Germany. For this he was accused of high treason and was confined in prisons in Cologne and Minden for …

Address correspondence to: Edmund C. Burke, MD, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St NW, Rochester, MN 55905.