Little Known Black History Fact – Black America Know Our History: July 9, 1893-Medical Pioneer, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Performed the First Open-Heart Surgery 

An apprentice shoemaker and a successful barber age 17, Daniel Williams began his medical studies as an apprentice with prominent surgeon Dr. Henry Palmer. This helped him earn a spot at Northwestern University’s prestigious Chicago Medical School. After earning an M.D. in 1883, he became one of the city’s precious few African-American physicians. Spurred by the experience of a Black woman who aspired to study nursing but was denied the opportunity because of her race, Dr. Williams helped found the Provident Hospital and Nursing Training School. In 1893, Williams earned fame for his superior medical instinct and surgical skill by performing the first open-heart surgery on the young Black man, James Cornish, who was admitted to Provident Hospital with a deep stab wound in his chest and close to his heart.

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