Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931) surgeon; educator. Born in Pennsylvania, Williams went to work at age 12 as an apprentice to a shoemaker. Afterward, he worked at a variety of jobs, finally moving to Wisconsin, where he became an apprentice to Dr. Henry Palmer in 1878. Palmer helped him enter Chicago Medical College, from which Williams graduated in 1883. He sat up an office in Chicago and joined the staff of the south Side Dispensary. He also became an instructor at Chicago Medical College and, in 1889, was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Health. In 1891, Williams established Provident Hospital, which was open to persons of all races and maintained an integrated medical staff and nurses training program. In 1893, “Dr. Dan” as he was affectionately known, became the first doctor in history to operate successfully on a human heart. The patient, a man named James Cornish, had been stabbed in the heart and left for dead. the operation made news all over the world, and the following year, Williams became chief surgeon at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. There, he reorganized the various medical departments and established new ones. However, frustration with hospital politics caused him to return to Chicago in 1898, where he was asked by the army to evaluate and select surgeons for service during the Spanish-American War. Over the next 20 years, Dr. Williams was instrumental in the establishment of 40 hospitals primarily serving African Americans.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 21:48:34 +0000