Carson, Ben (1951-…), is an American pediatric neurosurgeon (surgeon specializing in the brain and spinal cord of children). In 1987, he led the Johns Hopkins University surgical team that successfully separated conjoined twins, also called Siamese twins. The twins, 7-month-old boys born in what was then West Germany, were joined at the back of their heads and shared a major vein and brain tissue. The delicate 22-hour surgery required a team of 70 professionals in the operating room. See Conjoined twins .
The success of the operation centered on Carson, who performed the critical surgery dividing the brain tissue shared by the two babies. Carson and his associates had only one hour, during which time the babies’ hearts were stopped and the blood drained from their bodies, to separate the tissue, reconstruct veins, and restart the hearts.
Benjamin Carson was born on Sept. 18, 1951, in Detroit. He received a B.A. degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and an M.D. degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was director of pediatric neurosurgery and associate professor of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, oncology, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and codirector of the Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center. In 2006, Carson won the Spingarn Medal , the highest honor given by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country’s highest honors given to civilians, for his work. He retired from Johns Hopkins University in 2013.
He wrote an autobiography, Gifted Hands (1996). His other books include The Big Picture (2000) and Think Big (2006). These books describe Carson’s personal views on life, work, and his faith. He also wrote a political book, A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties (2015).
In 2015, Carson began a campaign for the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2016. Following his 2013 retirement from the medical field, Carson had become known as a critic of many policies advocated by President Barack Obama. He was particularly outspoken in his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance reform law popularly known as “Obamacare.” Carson suspended his campaign for the presidential nomination in March 2016, following a series of disappointing finishes in early nominating contests. Carson served as secretary of housing and urban development in President Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet from 2017 to 2021.
