02/23/2026
Celebrating Black History Month and the Pioneers in Health Care.
In 1893, Dr. Williams became the first surgeon to perform successful open-heart surgery on a human.
After training with an accomplished surgeon, Daniel graduated with an M.D. degree in 1883 at Chicago Medical College and started work in Chicago. Because of racial bias, hospitals at that time did not allow Black doctors on staff. So Dr. Williams founded the Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses (now Provident Hospital), the nation’s first Black-owned in*******al hospital. In 1895, he co-founded the National Medical Association, a professional organization for black medical practitioners. Dr. Williams was the first African American physician admitted to the American College of Surgeons.