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Morris Jacobs Papers

Call Number

RG.035

Date

1929-1963, inclusive

Creator

Extent

1 Linear Feet Three 1.5 inch legal-sized manuscript boxes

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Abstract

Morris Boris Jacobs (1905-1965), a chemical engineer, was an adjunct professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn from 1946-1952. Jacobs left behind a legacy of work in pollution research, toxicology, and public health in the form of 20 textbooks, 100 research papers, 200 technical journals, and multiple patents. The collection covers active years in Jacobs's career (1929-1963) with an emphasis on the years during his work at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.

Biographical / Historical

Morris Boris Jacobs (1905-1965) was born in Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine and moved to the United States as a child. He earned his BA from the college of the City of New York in 1926 and his MS and PhD from New York University in 1929 and 1931, respectively. Dr. Jacobs worked as a chemist in the United States Food, Drug and Insecticide Administration and the New York City Department of Health. During World War II, he was the director of Gas Reconnaissance and executive officer of the Gas Defense Service of the city's Civil Defense Corps.

Following WWII, Dr. Jacobs was an adjunct professor of chemical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn from 1946-1952. In 1959, he became an associate professor of occupational medicine in the School of Public Health and Administrative Medicine at Columbia University. The following year he was promoted to full professor and supervisor of the toxicology and hygiene laboratory.

Dr. Jacobs died, suddenly, as the result of a massive cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 59. Jacobs left behind a legacy of work in pollution research, toxicology, and public health in the form of 20 textbooks, 100 research papers, 200 technical journals, and multiple patents.

Sources: Morris B. Jacobs obituary (1965, July 14). The New York Times. Morris B. Jacobs, PhD 1905-1965 Obituary (Nov 1965). Archives of Environmental Health, Volume 11.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series. Series I: Biography and Writings includes biographical materials and various scholarly works, including reports, articles, and rough drafts. Series II: Patents includes correspondence with the patent lawyer, rough drafts, revisions, and amendments of Morris Jacobs's patents.

Scope and Contents

This collection covers biographical information, including curriculum vitae, as well as bibliographies of scholarly output, articles, reports, patents, and correspondence related to publishing and patents. The collection covers active years in Jacobs's career (1929-1963) with an emphasis on the years during his work at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (1946-1952).

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish materials must be obtained from:

Poly Archives & Special Collections, Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, 5 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Phone: (718) 260-3943 E-mail: dibner.library@nyu.edu

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Morris Jacobs Papers; RG 035; box number; folder number or item identifier; Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, New York University.

Location of Materials

Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology 5 MetroTech Center Brooklyn, New York, 11201 (646) 997-3943 polyarchives@nyu.edu

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to the Poly Archives by Dr. Mark Gellis, the grandson of Dr. Morris Jacobs, in 2017.

Collection processed by

Lindsay Anderberg

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-22 10:07:29 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: Undetermined, Code for undetermined script script.

Revisions to this Guide

November 2021: Finding aid revised and edited by Zoe Blecher-Cohen, Mandy Abokhair, and Aileen Thong in 2021 to update the institutional change from NYU-Poly to NYU and for compliance with DACS Required Elements for Archival Description.

Repository

Poly Archives at the Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology, NYU Libraries
Poly Archives at Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology
5 MetroTech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201