Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
![](/sites/medical/painweek/files/styles/804x372/public/2022-02/Black%20History%20Month.jpg?itok=I-sYz4ML)
Daniel Hale Williams, MD (1858-1931)
The first African American to be inducted into the American College of Surgeons. Also:
- Considered the first African American cardiologist
- Opened the United States' first interracial hospital, which was Black-owned, and trained African American interns and nurses
- Performed a successful pericardium repair—the first documented human open heart surgery (1893)
- Co-organized the National Medical Association for black professionals, who were not allowed in the American Medical Association
Read more about Dr. Williams.
Did you enjoy this article?
Subscribe to the PAINWeek Newsletter
and get our latest articles and more direct to your inbox
Holly Caster