Simon Pollak (April 14, 1814 – October 31, 1903) was a St. Louis doctor who helped to found the Missouri Institute for the Education of the Blind in 1850 and who was involved in the development of the Western Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War.

[5] He gained unique experience when the Austrian government asked him to be part of a delegation to Russia to learn more about cholera.

[3] After moving to the United States, Pollak practiced medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, for several years.

[4] In the mid-1840s, Pollak became friends with U.S. senator Alexander Barrow and military colonel Zachary Taylor, the future U.S. president.

Taylor and Barrow asked Pollak to accompany them on a trip to Louisiana, where they introduced him to influential people in several cities.

By 1851, a private citizen, Eli William Whelan, connected with Pollak and they started a foundation to plan for the Missouri School for the Blind.

The system had not been embraced in the United States before that time, but Pollak had learned about it when he trained in Europe.