Ben Carson
Ben Carson, born September 18, 1951, is a renowned retired neurosurgeon, author, academic, and politician. He served as the 17th U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A pioneer in pediatric neurosurgery, Carson became the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the U.S. at Johns Hopkins in 1984. He gained fame in 1987 for leading the first successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head and achieved other groundbreaking advancements, such as performing the first neurosurgical procedure on a fetus inside the womb.
Carson entered politics after delivering a widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. He ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, later endorsing Donald Trump. Honored with over 60 honorary degrees, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and induction into the National Academy of Medicine, Carson remains one of the most prominent black conservatives in America. His life inspired the 2009 film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
