Williams, Daniel Hale (1856-1931), an African American doctor, pioneered in surgery on the human heart. In 1893, he became the first surgeon to repair a tear in the pericardium (sac around the heart). Williams helped improve medical opportunities for African Americans. In 1891, he founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, the country’s first interracial hospital and training school open to Black nurses and interns. Later, he established a nursing school for Black people at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. He established surgical clinics at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
Williams was born on Jan. 18, 1856, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Chicago Medical College (now Northwestern University Medical School) in 1883 and opened his Chicago practice. He was the only Black original member of the American College of Surgeons, which was founded in 1913. He died on Aug. 4, 1931.
