Jacob Alexander Haller Jr. (May 20, 1927 – June 13, 2018) was an American

pediatric surgeon Pediatric surgery is a medical specialty, subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. History Pediatric surgery arose in the middle of the 1879 century as the surgical care of birt ...

who served as the first Robert Garrett Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

. Haller Jr. was born in

Pulaski, Virginia Pulaski is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,086 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pulaski County. Pulaski is part of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan area. History Pulaski was incorpora ...

, to a family of dentists and physicians originally from

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

. His father, J. Alex Haller Sr., raised him with the help of two aunts, after his mother, Julia Allison, died. Haller Jr. contracted scarlet fever as a child, which led him to study medicine. He played basketball and football at Pulaski High School, graduating in 1944. Haller considered attending the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in his home state, but was accepted at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, where he had applied at his high school principal's suggestion. There, Haller met his future wife, Emily Simms, and played for the

Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have won three SEC regular-season titles (1965, 1974 and 1993) and two SEC Tournament championships (1951 and 20 ...

team until his senior year of college. Haller planned to enroll at the

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eskind Biomedical Libra ...

, but applied to the

, having heard from professors that Hopkins specialized in surgery, his field of choice. After completing his medical degree at Hopkins in 1951, Haller pursued further study in Europe on the advice of Arnold R. Rich. Haller was trained in pathology under Hans von Meyenburg at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. Haller was conscripted after his return from Switzerland. Rejected by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

due to

color blindness Color blindness, color vision deficiency (CVD) or color deficiency is the decreased ability to color vision, see color or differences in color. The severity of color blindness ranges from mostly unnoticeable to full absence of color percept ...

, he instead joined the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

in 1953, where he served six months at the Coast Guard Surgical Unit in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

. He later transferred to the

National Heart Institute The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3.6 billion in FY 2020 in tax revenue t ...

, where he served until 1955. After completing his residency at Hopkins, Haller began teaching at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

in 1959, and later served as chief of cardiac surgery at the Louisville General Hospital. Haller returned to Johns Hopkins in 1963 as assistant professor of surgery, and led the newly established pediatric surgery division. He was appointed the first Robert Garrett Professor of Pediatric Surgery in 1967. Over the course of his career, Haller helped develop the Advanced Pediatric Life Support program, and the Maryland Emergency Medical Services system. He is the namesake and co-creator of the Haller index. Haller was a founding member and later president of the

American Pediatric Surgical Association The American Pediatric Surgical Association is an American professional organization dedicated to pediatric surgery. It was established in 1970 and had over 1,200 members as of 2015. Its official journal is the '' Journal of Pediatric Surgery''. ...

. He retired in 1992. Haller died at home in

Glencoe, Maryland Glencoe is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Glencoe was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United Sta ...

, on June 13, 2018, aged 91.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haller, J. Alex 1927 births 2018 deaths American pediatric surgeons People from Pulaski, Virginia University of Louisville faculty Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Johns Hopkins University faculty Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Virginia United States Coast Guard officers National Institutes of Health people University of Zurich alumni 20th-century American surgeons American men's basketball players Medical personnel for the United States Coast Guard Recipients of the Denis Browne Gold Medal 20th-century American sportsmen