Edward Jackson, MD--a historical perspective of his contributions to refraction and to ophthalmology

Edward Jackson died October 29, 1942, at 86 years of age. He served as president of the major national ophthalmologic organizations and was professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado. He established the first graduate course for ophthalmologists, suggested the formation of the instruction courses of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and was the principal founder of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He founded and edited the Yearbook of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Literature. In 1918, he became editor of the third series of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, which consolidated five ophthalmic periodicals. In 1885, he popularized retinoscopy in the United States and was mainly responsible for making it a practical refraction tool. Two years later, he described the cross cylinder to determine the presence or absence of astigmatism. In 1907, he described the use of the cross cylinder to refine the axis of a correcting cylinder in astigmatism. He lectured and wrote widely and published over 700 scientific articles, book chapters, and books.