Daniel Hale Williams

Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an African-American general surgeon. In 1893 he was the second surgeon to successfully repair a heart wound. 
Early life.
Daniel Hale Williams III was born on January 18, 1856, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to Sarah Price Williams and Daniel Hale Williams II, who was a barber. The couple had several children. Williams III started as a shoemaker apprentice. Later he worked with the Equal Rights League, which was a black civil rights organization active during the Reconstruction era. He went to Chicago Medical college. 
Public life.
In 1891, Williams opened Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses. It was the first hospital with an interracial staff. In 1893, Williams was the second surgeon to perform open-heart surgery in the United States. The following year, he became chief surgeon at Freedmen's Hospital.