Lander Diversity Advisory Council: Unsung Black Heroes

Did you know that February is also American Heart Month? Dr. Williams established the country's first interracial hospital in 1891, the Provident Hospital. In 1893, he gained national attention when he became the first doctor to successfully perform open heart surgery, on a stabbing victim who had been rushed to the hospital. His patient, a young Black man named James Cornish, lived another 50 years. In 1913, Dr. Williams became the first African American to be inducted into the American College of Surgeons.

Source: Daniel Hale Williams. (1992). In Contemporary Black Biography (Vol. 2). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1606000260/BIC?u=landerulib&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=864f58f4