who performed the first open heart surgery in america
Daniel Hale Williams Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856[1] â€“ August 4, 1931) was an African-American general surgeon, who in 1893 performed the first documented, successful pericardium surgery in the United States to repair a wound.[2][3][4][5] He founded Chicago's Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States, and also founded an associated nursing school for African Americans.