Bernard Becker (August 21, 1920 – August 28, 2013) was an American professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a med ...

and visual sciences at Washington University's

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He was born in New York City. Becker was internationally honored as an expert on the diagnosis and treatment of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye re ...

and active in teaching and research. For more than 35 years, he led Washington University's department of ophthalmology. In 1978, students, patients, and colleagues raised funds in his honor, which now endow two faculty positions: the Bernard and Janet Becker Professorship (presently held by Dr. Shiming Chen) and the Bernard Becker Professorship (presently held by Dr. Timothy McBride).

Early life and education

After graduating from medical school, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and served as a

military psychiatrist Military psychiatry covers special aspects of psychiatry and mental disorders within the military context.Temple, M. & Greenberg, N. (2002)Military psychiatry. ''British Medical Journal Career Focus, 324'', S161a.Walter Reed Army Institute of Resea ...

Death

Just a week after his 93rd birthday, Dr. Becker died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

at his home in the

Central West End The Central West End is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, stretching from Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard and bordering on Forest Park with its outstanding array of free cultural institutions. It includes the Cathedral Basilica o ...

on August 28, 2013.

References

External links

Washington University in St. Louis Alumni Magazine, 2002

1920 births 2013 deaths American medical academics American ophthalmologists Washington University in St. Louis faculty Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri United States Army Medical Corps officers United States Army personnel of World War II military psychiatrists {{US-physician-stub