Jack Kevorkian

Jack Kevorkian
Kevorkian at UCLA's Royce Hall, January 15, 2011.
Born	Jacob Kevorkian (1928-05-26)May 26, 1928 Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Died	June 3, 2011(2011-06-03) (aged 83) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Cause of death	Thrombosis
Resting place	Troy, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Dr. Death
Alma mater	University of Michigan (B.S., M.D.)
Occupation	Physician, painter, author, musician
Years active	1952–2011
Jack Kevorkian Medical career Institutions Henry Ford Hospital University of Michigan Medical Center Saratoga General Hospital Specialism Euthanasia medicine Research Euthanasia Painless death

Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian (/kᵻˈvɔːrkiən/; May 26, 1928 – June 3, 2011) was an American pathologist, euthanasia activist, painter, author, composer, and instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He was often portrayed in the media with the name of "Dr. Death"; however, many consider him a hero, as he helped set the platform for reform. He famously said, "Dying is not a crime".

In 1999, Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his direct role in a case of voluntary euthanasia. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served eight years of a 10-to-25-year prison sentence. He was released on parole on June 1, 2007, on condition he would not offer advice nor participate nor be present in the act of any type of suicide involving euthanasia to any other person; as well as neither promote nor talk about the procedure of assisted suicide.

As an oil painter and a jazz musician, Kevorkian marketed limited quantities of his visual and musical artwork to the public.

Kevorkian was born in Pontiac, Michigan, on May 26, 1928, to Armenian immigrants. His father, Levon, was born in the village of Passen, near Erzurum, and his mother, Satenig, was born in the village of Govdun, near Sivas. His father left Armenia in the Ottoman Empire and made his way to Pontiac in 1912, where he found work at an automobile foundry. Satenig fled the Armenian Genocide of 1915, finding refuge with relatives in Paris, and eventually reuniting with her brother in Pontiac. Levon and Satenig met through the Armenian community in their city, where they married and began their family. The couple had a daughter, Margaret, in 1926, followed by son Jack — and, lastly, the third child, Flora.