Daniel+Hale+Williams

There are many unknown heroes of our time whose work and contributions allow us to enjoy the high standard of living that we take for granted in our lives today. They lie buried, names lost in the dust of time, like those in the [|Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers], venerated, yet unbeknownst to all. Through their courageous and tireless deeds, these people sacrificed whatever was asked of them to ensure that the lives of others may be saved and that the lives of many more would be better. [|Dr. Daniel Hale Williams], renowned for his medical contributions, is one of these heroes. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, born on January 18, 1856 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, faced many troubles in his early life. Williams was born to a very religious barber who died of tuberculosis when Williams was 9 years old. His mother, realizing that she would not be able to support the family, moved the family to Baltimore to live with relatives. Williams was apprenticed to a shoemaker in Baltimore for three years but ran away to live with his mother who had moved again to Illinois. He later moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he studied and became a successful barber living wiith the Anderson family.

Williams began studying medicine under the apprenticeship of Dr. Henry Palmer. Under Palmer's guidance, Williams was accepted in 1880 into a three-year program at the Chicago Medical School, considered one of the best medical schools at the time. Williams went on to graduate with an M.D. degree in 1883. Williams went on to practice medicine in Chicago in the South Side Dispensary, also working at the Protestant Orphan Asylum and the Northwestern University Medical School.

Although he found success in his own endeavors in his medical career, Williams did not fail to take notice of his disenfranchised brethren, denied of equal opportunities as their white counterparts due to their skin color. After being approached for help by Reverend Louis Reynolds, whose sister was refused admission to nursing schools because she was black, Williams helped found the [|Provident Hospital and Nursing Training School] in 1891. Although the new hospital was relatively small, it provided an environment wherein black and white physicians worked side by side and patients received equal treatment indiscriminately. Being one of the first black hospitals in the country, Provident Hospital was a key stepping stone towards gaining equality for people regardless of race in both the professional field and elsewhere.

In July 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams made history by performing the first successful open heart surgery on a Mr. James Cornish. The success of this new type of surgery, in an era where surgery of the kind was unheard of due to its high mortality rate associated with infection, was a medical milestone. Williams had utilized techniques and procedures that were decades ahead of the time. Riding on this wave of success and fame, Williams applied for and was appointed to the position of surgeon-in-chief at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C., a position Williams held from 1894 until 1898. Williams, with the help of much volunteer support, also [|expanded Provident Hospital] so that it may accommodate more patients. Never forgetting the disenfranchised state of his brethren, Williams helped found the [|National Medical Association] in 1895, which was the only national organization at the time open to black physicians, yet another key step to attaining equality. In 1902, Williams performed yet another breakthrough operation, successfully suturing a patient's spleen.

Being thus accomplished, Williams returned to Provident Hospital in Chicago where he proceeded to expand his private practice. Williams also became a visiting professor of surgery at Meharry Medical School in Nashville, Tennessee and traveled around the country, speaking on the recent breakthroughs in medicine and the expansion of African Americans in the medical field. Williams resigned from Provident Hospital in 1912, taking the position of staff surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago. Williams continued to practice actively until suffering a stroke in 1926. Williams thus retired to Idlewild, Michigan where he lived until his death in 1931, having lived the life of a hero, filled with success and contributions to his community. Many people today owe their lives to Williams. A shame most know not his name. Thus is the life and the legacy of an unknown hero.

Bibliography
 * __Daniel Hale Williams - The Black Inventor Online Museum__. 17 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/danielwilliams.html>.]
 * __Dr. Daniel Hale Williams__. 17 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/DrWilliams.htm>.]
 * __Daniel Hale Williams. Level 1__. 17 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.cbsd.org/pennsylvaniapeople/level1_biographies/Biographies_Level_1/daniel_hale_williams_level_1.htm>.]
 * __Community Hospital Anderson__. 22 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.communityanderson.com/diversity/african_american.asp>.]
 * __History: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams - The Provident Foundation__. The Provident Foundation. 21 Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.providentfoundation.org/history/williams.html>.]