Medical Pioneers Codexery

Ben Carson

Pioneering neurosurgeon who separated conjoined twins and later served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Last updated

Carson first achieved widespread recognition in 1987 when he headed a surgical team that performed the initial successful separation of twins who were craniopagus (joined at the back of the head).[1] Between 2017 and 2021, Carson held the position of 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as a member of the Republican Party.[2]

Key facts and history

His parents separated when he was eight years old, and he moved with his mother and brother to Boston for two years.[3] Carson completed his neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins, serving as chief resident in 1983.[4] He was appointed director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins in 1984.[5] Carson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008.[6]

Carson came into the world on September 18, 1951, in Detroit.[7] A Bachelor of Arts in psychology was awarded to Carson by Yale in 1973.[8] Among Carson's surgical achievements are the first successful in-utero neurosurgical procedure and the creation of novel approaches for managing brain-stem tumors.[1] When Carson left medical practice in 2013, his academic appointments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine included professorships in neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics.[9]

The National Academy of Medicine counted Carson among its elected members starting in 2010.[6]

What the research sources say

PolitiFact rated Carson's claim that he "didn't have an involvement with" Mannatech as false, noting he delivered paid speeches and appeared in promotional videos for the company.[10] During a 2004 address, Carson stated that the symptoms of his prostate cancer had vanished after using Mannatech's products.[11] In 2009, Mannatech resolved a Texas deceptive-marketing lawsuit by paying $7 million; the suit had alleged the company falsely claimed its products could cure autism and cancer.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Belluck, "With Ben Carson, the Doctor and the Politician Can Vary Sharply", The New York Times, November 22, 2015; Cameron, "Separation of craniopagus Siamese twins using cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermic circulatory arrest", The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 1989, p. 961–967; Belluck, "With Ben Carson, the Doctor and the Politician Can Vary Sharply", The New York Times, November 22, 2015; "16 Things to Know About ... Ben Carson", PBS, December 5, 2016; "Acclaimed physician Benjamin Carson to give Neurosurgery lec en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dooley, "Everything you need to know about HUD Secretary Ben Carson", ABC News, March 2, 2017; Garrison, "Pioneer surgeon Ben Carson will speak at Birmingham-Southern tonight", al, April 26, 2012; "Ben Carson Brochure", Morehouse School of Medicine, p. 2; Wright Rigueur, "What explains Ben Carson? The long tradition of black conservatism.", The Washington Post, September 10, 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carson, "America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Country Great", Zondervan, 2012, p. 53; Detroit Board of Education, "Detroit Public Schools Directory", Board of Education, 1972, p. 144–45, 148; Carson, "Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence", Zondervan, 1992, p. 31–55; Carson, "Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence", Zondervan, 1992, p. 31–55; Johnson, "For Ben Carson, bleak memories of his time in Boston. Candidate tells of long-ago blight and violence, but others from Dorchester, Roxbury look back m en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carson, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, 20th Anniversary edition", Zondervan, 2011, p. 125–26; Carson, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, 20th Anniversary edition", Zondervan, 2011, p. 135–36 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lindsay, "Ben Carson for President: What You Need to Know", The National Interest, May 5, 2015; "Neurologists & Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins he also worked at K.H.M.H in Belize in 2009 where he did twelve operations. – Profile: Dr. Benjamin Carson", Hopkins Medicine, June 24, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ben S. Carson", The Washington Times; "Acclaimed physician Benjamin Carson to give Neurosurgery lecture April 11", UW News; Booker, "5 Things You Should Know About Ben Carson", NPR, May 3, 2015; "Carson, Hopkins Colleagues Named to Institute of Medicine Children's Hospital at Johns Hopkins Baltimore, Maryland", November 25, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tankersley, "Carson's positions on poverty create tension with rags-to-riches life story", The Washington Post, October 30, 2015, p. A5; Glover, "A tale of two Carsons", CNN, November 7, 2015; Bump, "Ben Carson did not grow up living in public housing", The Washington Post, December 6, 2016; Rubin, "The Detroit childhood that shaped Ben Carson", The Detroit News, December 15, 2016; "BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: HUD Secretary Ben Carson", Politico, September 18, 2019; Frankfurter, "Life Choices // Dr. Ben Carson shares his amazing journey from povert en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carson, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, 20th Anniversary edition", Zondervan, 2011, p. 79; Carson, "You Have a Brain: A Teen's Guide to T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G.", Zondervan, 2015, p. 79; Carson, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, 20th Anniversary edition", Zondervan, 2011, p. 73; Carson, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, 20th Anniversary edition", Zondervan, 2011, p. 74; Carson, "The Big Picture: Getting Perspective on What's Really Important in Life", Zondervan, 1999, p. 200; Carson, "Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ben Carson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Neurologists & Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins – Profile: Dr. Benjamin Carson", June 25, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "At debate, Ben Carson says he has no connection to Mannatech", PolitiFact, October 29, 2015. facts only, no text reused. politifact.com
  11. Grabow, "Ben Carson had extensive relationship to dietary supplement company despite denial", CNN, October 30, 2015. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ben Carson (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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