Oscar Auerbach (January 1, 1905 – January 15, 1997) was an American pathologist and medical educator who significantly helped tie cigarette smoking to cancer.

Oscar Auerbach
BornJanuary 1, 1905
DiedJanuary 15, 1997
NationalityAmerican
Occupationpathologist

Early life and education

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Auerbach was born in Manhattan, New York City. He was the first child of European Jewish immigrants, Max and Jennie Auerbach.[1] He attended Staten Island Academy[2] but never completed high school or college. He entered New York University based on exams, then left without a degree to enter New York Medical College, receiving his MD in 1929. He later studied pathology in Vienna, where he met his wife.[3]

Career

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Auerbach worked at Staten Island's Sea View Hospital and Halloran Hospital in the 1930s and 1940s. Beginning in 1952, he worked for the Veterans Administration, holding the title senior medical investigator at his death. He also taught medicine at New York Medical College for 12 years and New Jersey Medical School for about 30 years.

Auerbach studied the link between smoking and cancer, and was called a "tireless" researcher. His studies were cited prominently in the 1964 Surgeon General's report on smoking, taking the evidence against smoking beyond statistical studies.

A resident of the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey, Auerbach died at the age of 92 on January 15, 1997, at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Schneiderman, Harry ; Carmin, Itzhak J. Who's Who in World Jewry; A Biographical Directory of Outstanding Jews, p. 33. Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1955. Accessed February 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "Famous Staten Islanders from all walks of life". Staten Island Advance. April 22, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Burkhart, Ford. "Oscar Auerbach, 92, Dies; Linked Smoking to Cancer", The New York Times, January 16, 1997. Accessed February 21, 2013.
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