Daniel Hale Williams House

Daniel Hale Williams House

The Daniel Hale Williams House is the former home of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931), one of the first major African American surgeons. Located at 445 East 42nd Street in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Dr. Williams is best known as the first American doctor to perform what would later be known as open heart surgery.

In 1893, he operated on a man who had received a stab wound to the heart. At the time the prevailing practice for dealing with direct wounds to the heart was to let patient die since it was considered impossible to operate directly on the heart.

Williams was also influential in promoting the development of African-American medical practitioners. Since most white-controlled hospitals were reluctant to take on African-American interns, nurses, and other staff,

Williams successfully established the Provident Hospital and Training School, the nation's first hospital and training school controlled by African-Americans.

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams House is a private residence and not open to the public.