Jacob, Herbert, 1933-1996
Dates
- Existence: 1933 - 1996
Biography
Herbert Jacob was born at Augsburg, Germany on February 10, 1933. Jacob joined the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University in 1969. While at Northwestern he was affiliated with the University's Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research as well as with its Program on Law and the Social Sciences. Jacob rejoined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin as the Hawkins Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law in 1984. He returned to Northwestern in 1985 and remained there until his death.
Jacob's family escaped Nazi Germany and settled in the United States. Jacob took his A.B. degree in 1954 from Harvard University. His graduate work at Yale University (M.A., 1955; Ph.D., 1960) was interrupted by service in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957. Jacob began his teaching career as an Instructor of Political Science at Tulane University from 1960 to 1962; then accepted an appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 1964 and to Professor in 1967 before leaving for NU.
Jacob's professional interests centered on American federal and state government and politics and on the intersection of legal and political systems. He was a leading figure in the law and society movement, a field emphasizing the study of law in action. Jacob's book Justice in America (1962) was considered a significant contribution to the field and he served as President of the Law and Society Association during 1981-1983.
Jacob was an active member of the American Political Science Association and made contributions to advisory panels and committees of the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Science, and the Social Science Research Council. He was the recipient of grants awarded by the Walter E. Meyer Institute of Legal Research (1965), the National Science Foundation (1968, 1972, 1984), the National Institute of Justice (1978), and the Fund for Research on Dispute Resolution (1988). Research undertaken through this grant support resulted in a number of publications. In addition to Justice in America, Jacobs' major books included: German Administration Since Bismarck (1963, 1974), Studies in Judicial Politics (1963), Debtors in Court: The Use of Court Services by Debtors and Creditors (1969), Elementary Political Analysis (1970, 1975), Politics in the American States (1965, 1971, 1976, 1983, 1990, 1996), Justice in America (1965, 1971 [Japanese edition], 1972, 1978, 1985), Urban Justice: Law and Order in American Cities (1973), Felony Justice (1977), Crime and Justice in Urban America (1980), The Frustration of Policy: Responses to Crime by American Cities 1984), Using Published Data (1984), Law and Politics in the United States (1986, 1995), Silent Revolution: The Transformation of Divorce Law in the United States (1988), and Courts, Law, and Politics in Comparative Perspective (1996). He was the author of dozens of journal articles and contributed chapters and served as editor, on the editorial boards, or as a referee for the American Political Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Law and Society Review, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, the Research Journal of the American Bar Foundation, and Law and Politics Book Review.
At Northwestern University Jacob served on a number of faculty committees. He was involved in a considerable amount of Political Science Department administrative work as Departmental Chairman (1974-1977), Director of Graduate Studies, and Departmental Placement Officer.
Jacob married Lynn Carp. The couple had four children: Joel B., David S., Jenny S., and M. Max. Jacob died at his home in Evanston, Illinois on August 29, 1996.