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Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
(1856 - 1931)
Surgeon and Medical Pioneer
On January 23, 1891, Daniel Hale Williams opened the doors to the Provident Hospital
and Training Association. On July 9, 1893, a young man named James Cornish was
injured in a bar fight. He had been stabbed in the chest with a knife. When he
arrived at Provident Hospital, he had lost a great deal of blood and had gone
into shock. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, surgeon, made the choice to operate and
opened Cornish’s chest. After seeing the damage to the pericardial sac
surrounding the heart, he sutured it, becoming the first surgeon to perform successful
open-heart surgery. It is imperative to note that during this time, the risk
of incurring life-threatening infection was great. Early medical practices required
the physician to treat the patients in their homes. Physicians often conducted
surgeries on the kitchen table. Dr. Williams pioneered the use of emerging antiseptic
and sterilization procedures. James Cornish walked out of Provident Hospital
completely recovered and lived another 50 years.
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Lonnie G. Johnson
(1954- )
President, Johnson Research & Development Company & Excellatron,
Mechanical
Engineering and Nuclear Engineering
Lonnie G. Johnson first conceived of one of his famous inventions in 1982. As
a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he helped develop thermodynamic
systems for space projects, which included his award winning work for the Galileo
and Jupiter Probes and the Mars Observer. He soon set out to invent the world’s
first high performance, pressurized water gun. His process allowed pressurized
water from the gun to travel great distances and insure accuracy of the target.
The gun later became known as the Super Soaker, and since 1990 has sold 40 million
units and grossed over $200 million in sales. Today, Lonnie G. Johnson holds
over 40 patents on his inventions, ranging from thermo- and fluid dynamics to
toys. |
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Carter G. Woodson
(1875 - 1950)
Father of Black History Month
“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose
the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” Carter
Godwin Woodson first opened the long-neglected field of black studies to scholars,
popularizing the field in the schools and colleges of African-Americans. To
focus attention on African-American contributions to civilization, he founded
Negro
History Week, which later evolved into Black History Month. After obtaining
his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, he founded the Association for the
Study
of Negro Life and History. He later edited the first issue of the association's
principal publication, The Journal of Negro History Under his direction; this
journal remained an important historical periodical for more than 30 years.
Many
people ask why Black History Month is in February. Woodson chose February
because even though the 13th Amendment to the constitution
was signed in January,
which abolished slavery, slaves did not start to hear of the news until February. |
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Benjamin S. Carson
(1951- )
Pediatric Neurosurgeon
On September 7, 1987, this Detroit-born neurosurgeon and a 70-member team successfully
performed a 22-hour surgery that was described “as being the most complex
surgical procedure performed in this century.” The complex operation separated
seven-month old Siamese twins joined at the cranium. Dr. Benjamin S. Carson made
medical history. Dr. Carson has continued to pioneer new techniques to improve
the quality of life for infants. He has developed an intra-uterine procedure
that relieves pressure on the brain of hydrocephalic fetal twins, and perfected
a hemispherectomy, which stops infant seizures. Since then, Dr. Carson has written
several books describing his life and research, and now shares his experience
with people around the world. |
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Charles Drew
(1904 - 1950)
Medical Director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank
Dr. Charles Drew’s work on blood plasma preservation saved the lives of
thousands of wounded servicemen in World War II. Dr. Drew developed a technique
for long-term preservation of blood plasma that involved separating plasma from
whole blood. Prior to the use of this technique, blood could not be stored for
more than two days because of the rapid breakdown of red blood cells. During
his research, he also discovered that each person had a particular blood type,
A, B, AB, or O, and then found a way to administer a plasma transfusion to anyone,
regardless of blood type. He became the first Medical Director of the American
Red Cross Bank. His body of work in blood transfusion and preservation continues
to save lives
today. |
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Mae C. Jemison
Chemical Engineer, Scientist, Physician, Teacher and Astronaut
“Space is the birthright of everyone who is on this planet. We need to
get every group of people in the world involved because it is something that
eventually we in the world community are going to share.” On September
12, 1992, Dr. Mae C. Jemison blasted off into space aboard the shuttle Endeavor.
She was the first African- American woman to fly in space. During the 190 hours
in space, Dr. Jemison conducted experiments on the biological effects of weightlessness,
the loss of bone calcium, tissue growth and the usefulness of biofeedback as
a remedy for motion sickness, among others. She has since left NASA to found
the Jemison Group, Inc. One of her many projects focuses on improving the healthcare
in Africa. |
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George Washington Carver
(1865 - 1943)
Chemurgist/Chemist
George Washington Carver won international fame for his work in plant chemistry
and his study of the uses for peanuts, soybeans and clay. His research resulted
in the development of 325 products from peanuts, 108 applications for sweet potatoes,
and 75 products derived from pecans, including many common household products
such as adhesives, dyes, instant coffee, linoleum, shoe polish, bleach and ink.
On July 14, 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt honored George Washington
Carver and a national monument was dedicated to his life’s accomplishments. |
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Otis Boykin
(1920 - 1982)
Inventor
Otis Boykin is most famous for his invention of the pacemaker, a medical device
that helped prevent heart failure by controlling the heartbeat through the use
of electronic pulses. Boykin began his career as a laboratory assistant testing
automatic controls for aircrafts, and later began experiments on resistors. He
first patented the wire precision resistor in 1959, and later invented the electrical
resistor. Boykin's innovations in resistor design are now used in computers,
radios and television sets, and ultimately led to his invention of the pacemaker.
His work reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for military and commercial
applications, and helped these products to proliferate throughout the world. |
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Patricia E. Bath
(1949- )
Laser Scientist, Inventor & Physician
Dr. Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe. She describes the invention as an “apparatus
for ablating and removing cataract lenses.” Cataracts are one of the leading
causes of blindness. They generally affect people age 60 and older. Cataracts
cause a cloudiness to form on the lens of the eye, causing blurred or distorted
vision, or blindness. She received a patent for her invention in the U.S., Japan,
Canada and five European countries. She along with three colleagues founded the
American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness (AIPB). |
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