DR. DANIEL HALE WILLIAMS (1856 – 1931) was the first black heart surgeon.
Williams was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to Daniel and Sarah Price Williams, a middle-class free black family. When his father died of tuberculosis, his mother realized she could not manage seven children and sent some of them to live with relatives. Daniel went to Baltimore and apprenticed to a shoemaker but ran away to join his mother who had moved to Rockford, Illinois. He later moved to Edgerton, Wisconsin, where he joined his sister and opened his own barber shop. After moving to nearby Janesville, Williams became fascinated with a local physician and decided to follow his career path.
He began working as an apprentice to the physician, Dr. Henry Palmer, for two years and in 1880, he entered what is now known as Northwestern University School. After graduating in 1883, he opened his own medical office in Chicago. Because of primitive social and medical circumstances existing in that era, much of Williams early medical practice called for him to treat patients in their homes, including conducting occasional surgeries on kitchen tables. Williams utilized many of the emerging antiseptic, sterilization procedures of the day and gained a reputation for professionalism. He was soon appointed a surgeon on the staff of the South Side Dispensary and then a clinical instructor in anatomy at Northwestern. In 1889, he was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Health and one year later, he set out to create an interracial hospital.
On January 23, 1891, Williams established the Provident Hospital and Training School Association, a three story building which held 12 beds and served members of the community as a whole. The school also served to train black nurses and utilized doctors of all races. Within its first year, 189 patients were treated at Provident Hospital and of those 141 saw a complete recovery, 23 had recovered significantly, three had seen change in their condition and 22 had died. For a brand new hospital, at that time, to see an 87% success rate was phenomenal considering the financial and health conditions of the patient, and primitive conditions of most hospitals. Much can be attributed to Williams insistence on the highest standards concerning procedures and sanitary conditions.
Two years later, on July 9, 1893, a young black man named James Cornish was injured in a bar fight, stabbed in the chest with a knife. By the time he was transported to Provident Hospital, he was seeping closer and closer to death, having lost a great deal of blood and gone into shock. Williams was faced with the choice of opening the man’s chest and possibly operating internally when that was almost nonexistent at that time. Internal operations were unheard of because any entrance into the chest or abdomen of a patient would almost surely bring with it resulting infection and therefore death.
Williams made the decision to operate and opened the man’s chest. He saw the damage to the man’s pericardium (sac surrounding the heart) and sutured it, then applied antiseptic procedures before closing his chest. Fifty-one days later, James Cornish walked out of Provident Hospital completely recovered and would go on to live for another fifty years. Unfortunately, Williams was so busy with other matters, he did not bother to document the event and others made claims to have first achieved the feat of performing open heart surgery. Fortunately, local newspapers of the day did spread the news and Williams received the acclaim he deserved. It should be noted however that while he is known as the first person to perform an open heart surgery, it is actually more noteworthy that he was the first surgeon to open the chest cavity successfully without the patient dying of infection. His procedures would therefore be used as standards for future internal surgeries.
In February 1894, Williams was appointed Chief Surgeon at the Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. and reorganized the hospital, creating seven medical and surgical departments, setting up pathological and bacteriological units, establishing a biracial staff of highly qualified doctors and nurses and established an internship program. Recognition of his efforts and their success came when doctors from all over the country traveled to Washington to view the hospital and to sit in on surgeries performed there. Almost immediately there was an astounding increase in efficiency as well as a decrease in patient deaths.
During this time, Williams married the Alice Johnson (daughter of sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel) and the couple soon moved to Chicago after Daniel resigned from the Freedmen’s hospital. He resumed his position as Chief Surgeon at Provident Hospital (which could now accommodate 65 patients) as well as for nearby Mercy Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital, an exclusive hospital for wealthy white patients. He was also asked to travel across the country to attend to important patients or to oversee certain procedures.
When the American Medical Association refused to accept black members, Williams helped to set up and served as Vice-President of the National Medical Association. In 1912, Williams was appointed associate attending surgeon at St. Luke’s and worked there until his retirement from the practice of medicine. When the American College of Surgeons was founded in 1913, Williams became a charter member, the first black surgeon admitted to the organization. Williams was also a teacher of Clinical Surgery at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and was an attending surgeon at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Upon his retirement, Williams had received numerous honors and awards, including honorary degrees from Howard and Wilberforce Universities and membership in the Chicago Surgical Society.
Williams died of a stroke at the age of 75 on August 4, 1931, in Idlewild, Michigan.
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Concrete Loop features ‘Black History Spotlights’ each week honoring black people who have played pivotal roles in history. submissions are welcome.
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Perfect Post after the Election win post. We didnt need to go from Obama’s win to seeing Lil Wayne saggin, Beyonce making more millions and Rhianna being fierce! This is part of our youth’s problems of today.
I love learning knew things and am proud of my race as a people. Learning these things just lets me know that anything is possible! It makes me want to work harder in what i’m doing so my kids can say that they are proud also. Thanks CL
tthought the years African Americans have made many contributions that have been ignored or the credit was given to someone else. we are a remarkable race. dr.williams proved that.
Fascinating story!!!! I agree with post #1
Great post….
We’ve come a mighty long way..Makes me proud to say that today! OBAMA 08 BABY
This is freakin awesome!! This guy did this in 1800′s. Wow. You know we can do anything! Expecially with the wealth of information that is available. Wow. I’m going to work extremely inspired today. Thanks CL!
I’m in health care and very familiar with Dr. Williams. Blacks have done so much in the field of medicine. Thanks for this post. After the world’s major victory on November 4th I want to continue the positivity.
@1 and all the rest of you…STFU! CL can post whatever they want to…it’s a damn gossip blog! Ya’ll asses ain’t comin on here just to see some historical shit. YOu coming on here to see Lil Wayne, Beyonce and ‘em, so stop tripping. If you want to see something different go read the damn newspaper or watch the History channel and get off the damn Internet.
Ditto #1
That’s one hell of a chin, and the hair on it makes it look real weird….
The first black heart suregon is a great accomplishment. The schools really need to modify the history books and add more accomplished black people because there are just as many successful black people as there is white. I
t’s time for change! Hopefully they will change them really soon since Obama won the election!!!!
Great post!
Wonderful post. As someone who is pursuing a career in medicine, I find it uplifting to see and read information like this.
Thank you!
Great post!!! Being proud of black people isn’t anti-white. It’s just that growing up, the accomplishments of white people were so prevalent. Looking at the history books and things of that nature would lead one to believe that mostly white people are the ones who suceeed at things, while only a handful of black people do. It’s good to be able to identify with someone like us.
Didn’t HBO make a movie about him and Mos Def played him?
I dunno.. but Mos Def would be a great choice if he did play Dr. Hale!
You are so right #1 and #11.
CL should stand for Culture Loop.. hehe.. cuz its so much more than just a gossip blog.. yes, its mainly about Black celeb life.. but OUR WORLD is so much more than that. So thank you J. DAKAR for your consistent posts. CHANGE didn’t START yesterday.. It started with people like Dr. Daniel Hale Williams.
I love you J. Dakar.
This was a great posting. I like how you guys do the whole ‘meal’ of a person’s story and not just some of the dinner and dessert. And by that I mean: the beginning, middle, ending
On another note, I really do appreciate CL for keeping the Black Spot Light alive with a posting every month about a person of color achieving something great and/or positive with their life… I know you guys do not get a lot of comments on these posting but thanks for keeping it alive
I would also like to say thank you to CL in particularly Angel, I remember back in February when you start this Angel you stated something like: “I am not just doing this b/c of Black History month I will continue posting a BSL at least every mnth.
~Knowledge
great post…
i remember doing a project on him in elementary school…
#14: mos def played vivien thomas, a surgery tech. he helped develop procedures to treat baby blue syndrome.
Great piece
WOW THIS WAS THE STEPPING STONES THAT LED UP TO THE HISTORY OF TODAY …..
OBAMA IM SO PROUD OF YOU NOW WE CAN TELL OUT CHILDRENS ONE DAY YOU CAN GROW UP TO BE PRESIDENT ANY RACE OF AN ETHIC BACKGROUND AND THERE IS LIVING PROOF
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Great Info! Thanks for this!
damn… now that’s what i call leaving your mark on the world.
Thank you again CL for another wonderful post. Keep them coming….Hey you guys should do one on Barack Obama….after all, he is our first African American president!
Change started with the Now look where it has brought our people,,,,,,Mr. Williams open the door and it continue to get wider
HAVE A GREAT DAY
Great post!
@ numba 9
The Devil Is a Liar…
Ignorance is such sweet sorrow…
Learning anything uplifting modivating and knowlegable, can come in any form or fashion…A black entertainment site, can also give us very much needed substance about our a very important part of our culture that most seem to give credit else were or chose to ignore. Knowlege is Power…Its Modivating…
Now if you choose to use the internet to simply read gossip and to social network…your ignorance is at a much higher rate then thought. Anyone with internet access should know the value of self education..You can google anything. So to say to read a newspaper and watch the history channel..lol ..Complete and insane F@$kery!
FYI…Maybe you didnt get the memo..But OUR STORY…OUR HISTORY…Wasnt on the history channel or in the newspaper the way it Should have been.
So Big ups to J Dakaar.. Thank you for taking the time to research very important historic people in our culture. Keep doing it..Its Educational And very needed..
One Love.
I have always loved it when CL posts these, but they seem to take on added significance in light of the history that we are witnessing with the election.
We are truly a magnificent people!
something as uplifting as this . makes me wonder what are we thinking why can’t more black folks enter the medical field, it is already a fact that ‘WHITE DOCTORS’ don’t won’t blacks as pateints that they prefer white ones. now what you think about that mikey bayzen why you want me to recongize when it comes to the election, and the latino’s. you damn skippy i was very critical of the latinos in my comments. ITS CALLED A REALITY CHECK mikey bazen you damn right i did recongize. have you? have you read the book “presummed allianace” about the black/latino divide? mr. bayzen to be honest i think you are the snake oil salesman of the air waves selling snake oil. yes i called out the latinos and it might of made a difference but they said they vote democrat but are conservitive so i made it known that the road they travel that the folks of the civil rights movement made it possible. some of us have them scars that run deep and i feel the more scars the more your tears flowed nov 4,election night. i was standing on columbus and jackson st. in chicago mr. bayzen and for you to jack up the latinos all day on your radio show got irritating when i knew that they had to be reminded of a road that they have LESS traveled. oh yea i was also in jena la. and you stated that there was a lot of the white family down there which was false another snake oil pitch you made . whom i remember got off a bus made your celebrity entrance and walk and got back on the bus and headed back to alexdria la. sometimes you are so borderline phony. i would like to thank the latino support but won’t kiss their ass about it. because there is still a blk/brn divide ask your listeners out in calif if you think i’am lieing NOW YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE. black doctors where are you? you are really needed.
I loved that! Never Knew!
Janice. Mos def was in in a movie on HBO “Something the Lord Made” He played Vivien Thomas a Black surgical technician who made instruments and made it possible for Dr. Alfred Blaylock, a white surgeon to perform the surgery for Blue Baby syndrome. First time in this country. It was a wonderful movie and Mos Def was excellent. As a Black physician in medicine I appreciate Concrete Loop bringing all this info to light.
You guys are one of the Best!! Stay positive and keep blogging !
^^^ Nat, you are correct. I didn’t see it, but I thought the movie was loosely based off Dr. Hale.
Good to know Dr. Williams was NOT assisted. He performed his duty and went on about his business not quite understanding or knowing what he had accomplished until later.
Great man, great man.
My daughter(11) will love this post as she is an aspiring Doctor of emergency medicine.
Thanks for sharing.
loved it
great post!
I think it is just so fabulous that Concrete Loop always takes the time to give us brief history lessons! I am an avid reader of Concrete Loop…I just love it You guys don’t only focus on famous black leaders you focus on folks that I have never even heard of or was never taught about in school.
Thanks for always doing your Black History posts!
Yani
Love the post CL. I’m happy to learn about my people other than the same damn ones they teach us about in school like those were the only blacks to accomplish anything. From a barber to a surgeon, now that’s a damn upgrade for realz.
MamaKilya and Nat
Thanks….i seen that HBO movie but I couldn’t remember who it was about. Its been a while
Wow, I never knew about him but that was really interesting. Another tidbit about my history to be proud of. While we’re on the subject of black doctors, can you guys do some spotlights on important black psychologists like Dr. Mamie Clark. She was one of the first black ppl (along w/ her husband Kenneth) to receive a Ph.D in psychology in the US.
Here he is the 1st Black Heart Suregeon. NOW we have the 1st Black President! I’m so inspired, so elated and so proud to be a Black woman! Wonderful people for our children to look up.
Stories like this are tremendously inspirational! Especially this week, when I think alot of people are feeling like there is no limit to what we successes we can achieve. Thank you for posting this mini-bio, CL!
As I aspire to become a Nurse, I am glad that there was a post relating to Medicine.
i just loves these post…makes proud to be an AFRICAN AMERICAN…keep them coming concreteloop!
I love concrete for posts like these-and for beyonce and rihanna being fierce!!
We need to educate young black children about the accomplishments of Dr. Williams and other Afircan American’s like George Washington Carver,Granville T. Woods, and Dr. Charles Drew. We need to realize we have a rich history of accomplishment in America and in the world. Our future need to realize that they can be anything,do anything,achieve anything in this world
I love learning about my history!! Keep it up CL!
I remember reading about his life story before but I still have the same reaction everytime. Amazing!!!!
Great read!!!
This is excellent. I was already familiar with Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, but I am happy to see this post. These types of stories are important, including those of his contemporaries Dr. Edward Ramsey who was a trailblazer for black doctors in Houston, Texas in the 1890′s and Ramsey’s son-in-law, Dr. John Henry Jordan, who helped to integrate medicine in the Atlanta area in the early 1900′s. Stories of such men definitely need to be told in order to inspire others.
Karen
http://www.karenjordanwrites.com
Its such as you learn my thoughts! You seem to grasp a lot approximately this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few percent to pressure the message home a little bit, however other than that, that is wonderful blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.