Edward Jackson

Edward Jackson (March 30, 1856 - October 29, 1942) was an American ophthalmologist better known for popularizing retinoscopy in the United States. He also described detecting astigmatism and its correct axis using a cross-cylinder. The modified Stokes lens he made was later known as Jackson's cross-cylinder.

Biography Edward Jackson was born March 30, 1856, in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Holiday and Emily Jackson. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Union College, New York in 1874, and in 1878 received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1887 he described detecting astigmatism using a cross-cylinder, and in 1907 he described the determination of the axis of a correcting cylinder in astigmatism using a cross-cylinder.

He founded and edited the Yearbook of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Literature, and was appointed editor of the third series of the American Journal of Ophthalmology in 1918.