Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an American general surgeon, who in 1893 performed what is referred to as "the first successful heart surgery". In 1913, Williams was elected as the only African-American charter member of the American College of Surgeons.His famed procedure was a documented, successful pericardium surgery in the US to repair a wound. He founded Chicago's Provident Hospital, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States and also founded an associated nursing school for African Americans.