In Nashville, TN, this high school honors graduate dreamed of becoming a physician. Thomas, a skilled carpenter, saved for seven years to pay for his education. However, he lost his savings during the Great Depression. In 1930, he was hired as a janitor in the laboratory at Vanderbilt University. There he met Dr. Alfred Blalock, a white physician who became a pioneer in cardiac surgery. Blalock mentored Thomas and taught him to conduct experiments.
In 1941, Blalock transferred to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and asked Thomas to transfer as well. While at Hopkins, they developed a procedure to save “blue babies” afflicted with congenital heart defects.
Interested? Read more about Vivien Thomas here
And remember folks, it's not just Black History, it's American History
Article snippet and photo from http://www.blackpast.org
2 comments:
A very good movie in reference to Mr. Vivien Thomas
"Something the Lord Made (2004)"
If you havent seen it already I highly recommend it. Good stuff...
Good movie indeed. I thought Mos Def was fantastic.
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