Herbert A. Jacobs was a journalist for the Milwaukee Journal and later a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

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Houses

Jacobs was a friend of Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...

. Jacobs and his wife Katherine commissioned Wright to design a house for them. This house, the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, commonly referred to as Jacobs I, is a single family home located in Madison, Wisconsin. Designed by noted American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, it was constructed in 1937 and is considered by most to be the first Usonian home.-History:Madison...

, was notable as the first example of Usonian architecture

Usonia

Usonia was a word used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to his vision for the landscape of the United States, including the planning of cities and the architecture of buildings...

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Later, they commissioned Wright to design their another house for them, the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House is the first home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that used passive solar feature of hemi-cycles. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003....

Jacobs method for crowd size estimation

Jacobs worked for the Milwaukee Journal from 1931 until 1962. After retirement, he taught journalism at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

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Jacobs was present in Berkeley during the Berkeley riots

Berkeley riots

The Berkeley riots were a series of protests at and near the University of California, Berkeley in the 1960s. Many of these protests were a small part of the larger Free Speech Movement, which had national implications...

. It was at this time that he devised a method for measuring crowd

Crowd

A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...

 size, the "Jacobs Method":

[Jacobs's] office was in a tower that overlooked the plaza where students frequently gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The plaza was marked with regular grid lines, which allowed Jacobs to see how many grid squares were filled with students and how many students on average packed into each grid. After gathering data on numerous demonstrations, Jacobs came up with some rules of thumb that still are used today by those serious about crowd estimation. A loose crowd, one where each person is an arm's length from the body of his or her nearest neighbors, needs 10 square feet per person. A more tightly packed crowd fills 4.5 square feet per person. A truly scary mob of mosh-pit density would get about 2.5 square feet per person.