July 1893

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Howard University-trained surgeon in Chicago, successfully sutures the pericardium of a stabbing victim — the first documented successful open-heart surgery in the world. The patient, James Cornish, survived and lived another 20 years. Williams had also founded Provident Hospital in 1891, the first Black-owned hospital in the U.S.

Chicago surgeon Daniel Hale Williams sutured the pericardium of a stabbing victim in a procedure widely recognized as the first successful open-heart surgery. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first interracial hospital in the United States, training Black surgeons and nurses during the height of Jim Crow medicine.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black surgeon in Chicago, performed what is widely recognized as the first successful open-heart surgery on July 9, 1893, repairing a stab wound to the pericardium of James Cornish, who survived. Williams had founded Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891 — the first interracial hospital in the US and the first to have a Black nursing training program.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery on July 9, 1893, repairing a stab wound to the pericardium of James Cornish, who survived. Williams had founded Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891, the first interracial hospital in the US and the first with a Black nursing training program.

Sutures a stab victim's pericardium at Chicago's Provident Hospital — among the first successful heart operations.