Charles Hirsch
| Charles Hirsch | |
|---|---|
| Chief Medical Examiner of New York City | |
|
In office 1989 – February 6, 2013 |
|
| Mayor | |
| Preceded by | Elliot M. Gross |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Sampson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Charles Sidney Hirsch March 30, 1937 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 8, 2016 (aged 79) Westwood, New Jersey, U.S. |
Charles Sidney Hirsch (March 30, 1937 – April 8, 2016) was an American forensic pathologist who served as the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City from 1989 until 2013. He oversaw the identification of victims from the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.
Hirsch graduated with a B.S. degree in 1958 with high distinction from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He attended the University of Illinois College of Medicine campus in Chicago, Illinois, and received his M.D. in 1962. Hirsch was recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by his medical school, delivering the commencement address at the school's 2003 graduation ceremonies.
Hirsch was a forensic pathologist in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966 and 1967. He served in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (which includes Cleveland) as deputy coroner from 1969 to 1979 and in Hamilton County, Ohio (which includes Cincinnati) from 1979 to 1985 as director of forensic pathology. He had been the Chief Medical Examiner of Suffolk County, New York, an office that performed an average of 15,000 autopsies per year since 1985. In April 1988, a special panel unanimously recommended that Hirsch be chosen to fill the vacancy in the New York City Medical Examiner's Office, to succeed Dr. Elliot M. Gross, who had been dismissed by the Mayor of New York City Ed Koch in October 1987.
As head of the New York City Medical Examiners Office, Hirsch and six aides went to establish a temporary morgue for the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks at the World Trade Center. When the North Tower collapsed, two members of the team were severely injured and Hirsch was thrown to the ground and bruised over much of his body, and left covered with dust over his entire body. Emptying the pulverized concrete from his pockets that day, Hirsch realized that many of the victims would have suffered a similar fate and been "rendered into dust". The Chief Medical Examiner's office has been responsible for the identification of the 20,000 body parts recovered at the site, and has used DNA and other medical technology to identify the individuals and to notify their families.
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