Benjamin Sacks • LITFL • Medical Eponym Library

Benjamin Sacks (1896 – 1971) was an American physician, specialising in cardiac pathology. He later also worked in the film industry and as a historian.

Benjamin Sacks is eponymously associated with Libman–Sacks endocarditis (1924) along with Emanuel Libman (1872-1946), which they defined as typical verrucous valvular lesions in patients with SLE.

In the 1950s, Dr Sacks stopped practicing medicine due to deteriorating health, and moved to serve as a technical advisor in the film industry, working with actors such as Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, and Barry Fitzgerald.

He later pursued historical research, particularly the history of the Southwest (USA), as Arizona became a Territory following the Mexican-American War (1850-1875). His extensive research ‘The Sacks Collection of the American West’ is stored at the Arizona Historical Foundation in the Hayden Library on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University.

Biography

Born August 14th, 1896
1922 – M.D., Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Maryland
Commenced medical career at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
1923 – Defined Libman–Sacks endocarditis with his mentor Emanuel Libman
1950s – Medical advisor in the film and television industry. Worked with actors including Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, and Barry Fitzgerald. Known for his attention to detail, creating sets that were identical to a real hospital or doctor’s office.
1959 – Appointment as the inaugural historical consultant to the American Historical Foundation
1964 – Published his first book: “Be It Enacted: the Creation of the Territory of Arizona”, which received the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History
1970 – Published his second book “Arizona’s Angry Man: United States Marshal Milton B. Duffield”
Died May 2, 1971

Medical Eponyms

Libman-Sacks endocarditis (1924)

Libman-Sacks endocarditis, characterized by sterile, verrucous valvular lesions (Libman-Sacks vegetations) with a predisposition for the mitral and aortic valves. Libman-Sacks endocarditis is regarded as both a cardiac manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus and, in recent years, of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). It is commonly complicated with embolic cerebrovascular disease.

Libman-Sacks vegetations: sterile fibrofibrinous vegetations that favor the left-sided heart valves and usually form on the ventricular surface of the mitral valve. A study of the echocardiographic findings of 342 consecutive patients with SLE found that 11% of these patients had Libman-Sacks vegetations

Fun Facts

In a letter of recommendation to the United States Surgeon General Hugh S. Cumming, Louis Gross (Director of Laboratories, Mount Sinai Hospital) wrote about Benjamin Sacks:

“Dr. Sacks is a man of striking personality. He is what is called a ‘natural born leader of men.’ He is an extraordinarily able teacher and is a constant stimulus to those about him. He is exceptionally well trained for investigative work”

When his medical career was cut short by ill health, Dr. Sacks turned his research talents and intellectual rigor to the history of the American West. In 1964, Sacks published Be It Enacted: the Creation of the Territory of Arizona. Described as a masterpiece of historical investigation and exposition for which he received the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

Major Publications

Libman E, Sacks B. A hitherto undescribed form of valvular and mural endocarditis. Arch Intern Med. 1924;33(6): 701–737
Sacks B. The Pathology of Rheumatic Fever: A Critical Review. Amer. Heart Jour. 1926;1:750.
Sacks B. Be it enacted: The creation of the Territory of Arizona. Arizona Historical Foundation. 1964
Sacks B. Arizona’s Angry Man, United States Marshal Milton B. Duffield. Arizona Historical Foundation. 1970

References

Williams C. The Sherlock Holmes of Research – A biography of Dr. Benjamin Sacks, M.D. 2008
Benjamin Sacks Manuscript Collection: 1921-1971. FM MSS #110. Arizona Historical Foundation
People Will Talk starring Cary Grant. 1951 [Technical advisor Benjamin Sacks]
Gross, Louis, and Hugh S. Cumming. Letter. Sacks Manuscript Collection, Arizona Historical Foundation, Tempe.