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Simon Pollack

Simon Pollak
Born (1814-04-14)April 14, 1814
Prague
Died October 31, 1903(1903-10-31) (aged 89)
St. Louis
Medical career
Profession Physician
Specialism Ophthalmology, otology

Simon Pollak (April 14, 1814 – October 31, 1903) was a St. Louis doctor who helped to found the Missouri Institute for the Education of the Blind in 1850 and who was involved in the development of the Western Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War. The Missouri Institute for the education of the Blind was the first institute to adopt the Braille System in the United States and the Western Sanitary Commission provided military camps with trained nurses, hospitals, and sanitary conditions.

Pollak was born in Prague and his family moved to Vienna when he was five. His father was a successful merchant. Pollak graduated from medical school in Vienna in 1835. He received postgraduate training in several cities in Europe. He gained unique experience when the Austrian government asked him to be part of a delegation to Russia to learn more about cholera.

After moving to the United States, Pollak practiced medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, for several years. In the mid-1840s, Pollak became friends with U.S. senator Alexander Barrow and military colonel Zachary Taylor, the future U.S. president. Taylor and Barrow asked Pollak to accompany them on a trip to Louisiana, where they introduced him to influential people in several cities. Based on these contacts, he decided to move to St. Louis in 1844. In St. Louis, Pollak established a successful medical practice. He was a general practitioner, but he had a special interest in eye and ear issues. He has been described as the first ophthalmologist in St. Louis. Pollak served several terms as treasurer of the St. Louis Medical Society, and he served one term as president.

In the early 1850s, Pollak helped to start the Missouri School for the Blind. Until 1847, the state of Missouri issued no funds for the education of the blind, and in that year they only provided enough funding to educate fifteen students for a two-year period. The state legislature had usually taken the stance that it was wasteful to educate the blind. By 1851, a private citizen, Eli William Whelan, connected with Pollak and they started a foundation to plan for the Missouri School for the Blind. The organization applied for state funding, and the legislature agreed to give the school $3,000 per year for five years if they raised the initial $10,000.


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