Daniel Hale Williams

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Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was a Black American surgeon and hospital founder. He founded Provident Hospital in 1891, which was the first non-segregated hospital in the United States. He is known for being the first to successfully perform a cardiac surgery—specifically, a procedure on the pericardium, the double-layered, fluid-filled sac that encloses the heart and the roots of the great vessels. The pericardium anchors the heart, protects it from infection and trauma, and reduces friction during its constant beating by providing lubrication. In 1913, Williams was elected as the only African-American charter member of the American College of Surgeons.

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