VIVIEN THOMAS, The Man who Helped Invent the Heart Surgery

Vivien Thomas was born on August 29, 1910, in New Iberia, Louisiana. He was the son of a carpenter and grandson of an enslaved man. He was a skilled carpenter who saved for seven years to pay for his education but lost it all during the Great Depression.

Beginning in 1930, he worked at Vanderbilt University’s Medical School as a laboratory assistant to Alfred Blalock, a white physician who became a pioneer in cardiac surgery. Blalock mentored Thomas and taught him to conduct experiments. Thomas had never been in a lab before, but his intelligence and curiosity impressed Blalock.

After 37 years, Thomas was appointed to the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Leaving an indelible mark, he became instructor emeritus of surgery. Vivien Thomas received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1976.

Vivien Thomas, who never earned a medical degree, died in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 75.

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