Leon Jaroff
| Leon Jaroff | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 27, 1927 |
| Died | October 20, 2012 (aged 85) East Hampton, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Science writer; Editor |
| Notable work | The New Genetics: The Human Genome Project and Its Impact on the Practice of Medicine |
| Spouse(s) | Claire Lynn Fox (1954–1975); Mary K. Moran (1976–2012) |
| Children | Peter, Nicholas, Jill, Susan, Jennifer |
Leon Morton Jaroff (February 27, 1927 – October 20, 2012) was an American science writer and editor. He is credited with convincing Time Inc. to publish the science-based Discover magazine, of which he was the founding editor. After four years, he left Discover for an editor's position with Time Magazine. Jaroff's medical, scientific, behavioral and environmental stories were featured on Time's cover over 40 times. His 1992 Time cover story "The Iceman's Secrets: the discovery of a frozen Stone Age man yields new clues about life in 3300 B.C." ranked second in overall sales for that year. Jaroff also wrote The New Genetics: The Human Genome Project and Its Impact on the Practice of Medicine.
Jaroff was born February 27, 1927, the son of Abraham and Ruth (Rockita) Jaroff. His interest in journalism started at Central High School in Detroit, Michigan where he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper called "Rambling at Random".
He married Claire Lynn Fox in 1954 and had two sons and three daughters: Peter, Nicholas, Jill, Susan, Jennifer. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975.
His marriage, in 1976, to Mary K. Moran lasted until his death in 2012.
Jaroff attended the University of Michigan where he studied electrical engineering and mechanics. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1950. While attending the university, Jaroff worked on the school newspaper, the Michigan Daily, as managing editor.
During World War II, Jaroff served as an electronic technician's mate from 1944-1945 in the U.S. Navy.
Jaroff died October 20, 2012 in East Hampton, New York. A memorial gathering in honor of Jaroff was held November 29, 2012 at the Time-Life Building in New York City.
After graduation, Jaroff took a job at the engineering magazine, Materials and Methods, but didn't like it and left after six months. In 1951, Jaroff became an editorial trainee for Life magazine. He worked as a reporter and correspondent for the magazine until 1958. In 1954, he began writing for Time magazine and was hired as the magazine's chief science editor by 1966. Throughout his career at the magazine, Jaroff's stories were featured on the cover more than 40 times. He left his post as correspondent and senior editor in 1979.
In 1971, Jaroff approached Time, Inc. about starting a science magazine for the first time. It took until 1980 for Time Inc. to agree to publish a science-based magazine, which they called Discover. Jaroff described Discover as "more like a Time magazine of the sciences," featuring people in science, as well as book reviews and critiques of science- or pseudoscience-themed movies and television shows. He became the magazine's founding editor, increasing its circulation from about 400,000 readers to 935,000.
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