Medical Pioneer. Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he was the son of Christian Lebanese parents. He received his undergraduate degree and medical training from Tulane University in New Orleans. He is best remembered for performing the world's first successful artificial heart transplant operation in 1966, and as an early developer of the modern heart-lung machine. He was also instrumental in perfecting surgical procedures involving coronary bypass operations and aortic aneurysm repairs. He served as a surgical consultant during the Second World War and devised the concept of Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, more commonly known as M.A.S.H. units. Following the war, he joined the staff of Baylor College, serving as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery. He served as the college's President from 1969 to 1979 and as Chancellor from 1978 to 1996. He was the recipient of the Legion of Merit Medal in 1948, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and the National Medal of Science in 1987. During his career he performed and assisted in over 20 thousand heart-related operations, many on well-known celebrities and foreign heads of state. He died in a Houston hospital at the age of 99.
Medical Pioneer. Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he was the son of Christian Lebanese parents. He received his undergraduate degree and medical training from Tulane University in New Orleans. He is best remembered for performing the world's first successful artificial heart transplant operation in 1966, and as an early developer of the modern heart-lung machine. He was also instrumental in perfecting surgical procedures involving coronary bypass operations and aortic aneurysm repairs. He served as a surgical consultant during the Second World War and devised the concept of Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, more commonly known as M.A.S.H. units. Following the war, he joined the staff of Baylor College, serving as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery. He served as the college's President from 1969 to 1979 and as Chancellor from 1978 to 1996. He was the recipient of the Legion of Merit Medal in 1948, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and the National Medal of Science in 1987. During his career he performed and assisted in over 20 thousand heart-related operations, many on well-known celebrities and foreign heads of state. He died in a Houston hospital at the age of 99.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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