Chevalier Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Undated portrait of Jackson | |
| Born | (1865-11-04)November 4, 1865 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 16, 1958(1958-08-16) (aged 92) |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Advances inendoscopy |
| Awards | Elliott Cresson Medal (1929) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Laryngology |
Chevalier Quixote Jackson[1] (November 4, 1865 – August 16, 1958) was an American pioneer inlaryngology. He is sometimes known as the "father ofendoscopy", althoughPhilipp Bozzini (1773–1809) is also often given thissobriquet. Chevalier Q. Jackson extracted over 2000 swallowed foreign bodies from patients. The collection is currently on display at theMütter Museum in Philadelphia.
Jackson was born November 4, 1865, inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the second of William Stanford Jackson and Katherine Ann Morage's three sons.[2][3] He went to school at the Western University of Pennsylvania (now theUniversity of Pittsburgh) from 1879 to 1883, and received his MD fromJefferson Medical College inPhiladelphia. He also studied laryngology inEngland.
His work reduced the risks involved in atracheotomy. He essentially invented the modern science ofendoscopy of the upper airway andesophagus, using hollow tubes with illumination (esophagoscopes and bronchoscopes). He developed methods for removing foreign bodies from the esophagus and the airway with great safety — a huge advance for a condition that previously had often been a death sentence, with a high mortality from the object itself or from complications of chest surgery in the 19th century.
Jackson campaigned to put labels on all poisonous or corrosive substances to prevent ingestion accidents. Accordingly, theUS Congress passed theFederal Caustic Poison Act of 1927, which has saved countless children from serious injury and death. He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1919 and was awarded theFranklin Institute'sElliott Cresson Medal in 1929.[4] Jackson authored fourmonographs, twelve textbooks, and over 400 medical articles. Jackson was a professor at six different schools, including the University of Pittsburgh, Jefferson Medical College, University of Pennsylvania, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (nowDrexel University College of Medicine) andTemple University.
Jackson married in 1899 and had a son,Chevalier Lawrence Jackson, known informally as "C.L.," who went on to become a professor at Temple University. He resided atSunrise Mill.
When Jackson died in Philadelphia, his obituary referred to him as "one of the greatest, if not the greatest laryngologists of all time."[citation needed] He is buried inWest Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
