Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. | Academy of Achievement

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DeBakey, M.D. | Academy of Achievement</title> <meta name="description" content="No person did more to advance the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels than Dr. Michael DeBakey. As early as 1932, he developed components which became part of the first heart-lung machines. In 1936, he was one of the first to identify a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. In the 1950s, DeBakey devised plastic tubing for repairing blood vessels, a treatment he applied to prevent recurring strokes, and kidney failure, and to restore circulation to limbs which might otherwise have been amputated. In 1963, DeBakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient's damaged heart. As Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, he played a major role in the evolution of heart transplantation, artificial heart implantation and coronary bypass surgery. Countless men and women owe their lives to Dr. DeBakey's work, and he was sometimes called upon to perform in the most conspicuous situations. When the life of Russian President Boris Yeltsin hung in the balance, Dr. DeBakey, already in his 80s, traveled to Russia to participate in the multiple-bypass operation that saved the ailing leader's life. Michael DeBakey received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association, and the René Leriche Award of the International Society of Surgery. Dr. DeBakey died on July 11, 2008 at the age of 99."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. | Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="<p class="inputText">No person did more to advance the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels than Dr. Michael DeBakey. As early as 1932, he developed components which became part of the first heart-lung machines. In 1936, he was one of the first to identify a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. In the 1950s, DeBakey devised plastic tubing for repairing blood vessels, a treatment he applied to prevent recurring strokes, and kidney failure, and to restore circulation to limbs which might otherwise have been amputated. In 1963, DeBakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient's damaged heart.</p> <p class="inputText">As Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, he played a major role in the evolution of heart transplantation, artificial heart implantation and coronary bypass surgery. Countless men and women owe their lives to Dr. DeBakey's work, and he was sometimes called upon to perform in the most conspicuous situations. When the life of Russian President Boris Yeltsin hung in the balance, Dr. DeBakey, already in his 80s, traveled to Russia to participate in the multiple-bypass operation that saved the ailing leader's life.</p> <p class="inputText">Michael DeBakey received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association, and the René Leriche Award of the International Society of Surgery. Dr. DeBakey died on July 11, 2008 at the age of 99.</p>"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2016-12-07T19:50:47+00:00"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2800"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1120"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@achievers1961"/> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/#organization","name":"Academy of Achievement","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/","sameAs":["https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-academy-of-achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChe_87uh1H-NIMf3ndTjPFw","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Achievement","https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://twitter.com/achievers1961"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/12.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Academy of Achievement"},"image":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/#website","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/","name":"Academy of Achievement","description":"A museum of living history","publisher":{"@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/search/{search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg","contentUrl":"/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg","width":2800,"height":1120},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/#webpage","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/","name":"Michael E. 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In 1963, DeBakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient's damaged heart. As Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, he played a major role in the evolution of heart transplantation, artificial heart implantation and coronary bypass surgery. Countless men and women owe their lives to Dr. DeBakey's work, and he was sometimes called upon to perform in the most conspicuous situations. When the life of Russian President Boris Yeltsin hung in the balance, Dr. DeBakey, already in his 80s, traveled to Russia to participate in the multiple-bypass operation that saved the ailing leader's life. Michael DeBakey received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association, and the Ren\u00e9 Leriche Award of the International Society of Surgery. 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ratio-container ratio-container--feature"> <figure class="feature-box"> <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image feature-area__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg [(max-width:544px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3-1400x560.jpg [(max-width:992px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/debakey3-new3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-3.jpg"></div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <figcaption class="feature-area__text ratio-container__text container"> <div class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb">Father of Modern Cardiovascular Surgery</h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-2246 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-surgeon-medical-doctor"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">I think human beings have an innate desire to help each other. And whether you're in medicine or anything else, if you see someone that you can help...you get a gratification from doing it. In fact, I think that is perhaps the most important, you might say, fabric that holds the society together.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">Greatest Surgeon of the Twentieth Century</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> September 7, 1908 </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Death</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> July 11, 2008 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_33958" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33958" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33958 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33958 size-full lazyload" alt="1910: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age two." width="2280" height="2860" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1-303x380.jpg 303w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1-606x760.jpg 606w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33958" class="wp-caption-text">1910: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, at the age of two.</figcaption></figure> <p>Michael DeBakey was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the oldest of the five children of Raheeja and Shaker DeBakey. Lebanese Christians, his parents had fled their homeland to escape the oppression visited on the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. French speakers, they settled in Cajun country, where French was still spoken. The senior DeBakey was a pharmacist, and from an early age Michael DeBakey assisted his father in the family business. Conversation with the local physicians stirred his interest in medicine, and from an early age, he set his sights on a medical career. His parents insisted on a high level of academic performance, and he won admission to Tulane University in New Orleans.</p> <figure id="attachment_33966" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33966" style="width: 1852px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33966 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33966 size-full lazyload" alt="1930: Michael DeBakey in New Orleans, about age 22." width="1852" height="3132" data-sizes="(max-width: 1852px) 100vw, 1852px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_.jpg 1852w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_-225x380.jpg 225w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_-449x760.jpg 449w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33966" class="wp-caption-text">1930: Michael DeBakey in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 22. The son of Lebanese immigrants, he earned his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1932. DeBakey went on to become “acclaimed as the father of modern cardiovascular surgery and is considered by many as the greatest surgeon of the 20th century.”</figcaption></figure> <p>After completing his B.S. degree, DeBakey entered Tulane’s medical school, where he became a student of the distinguished surgeon and researcher Alton Ochsner. Under Ochsner’s influence, he decided to become a surgeon and applied himself to the technical problems of surgery in the circulatory system, the heart and the lungs. While still in medical school, DeBakey invented the roller pump, which made it possible to provide a surgical patient with a continuous flow of blood. DeBakey’s invention would play a major role in the eventual development of open heart surgery.</p> <figure id="attachment_33967" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33967" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33967 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33967 size-full lazyload" alt="1935: Michael DeBakey observing surgery at the Leriche Clinic in Strasbourg, France." width="2280" height="1560" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_-380x260.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_-760x520.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33967" class="wp-caption-text">1935: DeBakey completed his surgical fellowship at the University of Strasbourg under Professor René Leriche.</figcaption></figure> <p>DeBakey received his M.D. in 1932, and completed his internship and residency in surgery at New Orleans Charity Hospital. On Ochsner’s recommendation, he undertook surgical fellowships in Strasbourg, France and Heidelberg, Germany, mastering the latest surgical techniques from both Europe and America.</p> <figure id="attachment_33972" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33972" style="width: 2238px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33972 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33972 lazyload" alt="1930s: Portrait of Dr. Alton Ochsner. During DeBakey's senior year at Tulane University School of Medicine, he worked in the laboratory of legendary vascular surgeon Dr. Alton Ochsner, who succeeded Dr. Rudolph Matas, the "father of vascular surgery," as Chairman of the Department of Surgery. Ochsner became the mentor who directed the early development of DeBakey's medical career, and between 1932 and 1942, the two men published numerous scientific articles, including the first publication on the relationship of cancer of the lung to tobacco smoking." width="2238" height="2842" data-sizes="(max-width: 2238px) 100vw, 2238px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_.jpg 2238w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_-299x380.jpg 299w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_-598x760.jpg 598w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33972" class="wp-caption-text">1930s: Portrait of Dr. Alton Ochsner. During DeBakey’s senior year at Tulane University School of Medicine, he worked in the laboratory of legendary vascular surgeon Dr. Alton Ochsner, who succeeded Dr. Rudolph Matas, the “father of vascular surgery,” as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery. Ochsner became the mentor who directed the early development of DeBakey’s medical career, and the two men published numerous scientific articles, including the first publication on the relationship of cancer of the lung to tobacco smoking.</figcaption></figure> <p>On his return to the United States in 1937, DeBakey joined the faculty at Tulane Medical School, where he continued his work with Dr. Ochsner. The two surgeons were among the first to notice a correlation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Although they were unable to demonstrate a direct causal relationship, they began reporting data which would eventually lead to a widespread acceptance of the dangers of smoking. During World War II, DeBakey was given military leave to serve as a member of the Surgical Consultants’ Division in the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army. He worked to station doctors closer to the combat zone, rather than in hospitals far behind the lines. In 1945, he was named Director of the Consultants Division, and was awarded the Legion of Merit for his contribution to the strategy of battlefield medicine. His concept was developed further during the Korean War at the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH). After returning briefly to Tulane following the war, in 1948 he joined the faculty of Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. At Baylor, Dr. DeBakey became Chairman of the Department of Surgery, a post he would hold for the next 45 years.</p> <figure id="attachment_33963" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33963" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33963 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33963 size-full lazyload" alt="1945: Michael DeBakey receiving the Legion of Merit Award from Surgeon General Norman Thomas Kirk. The Legion of Merit was established by an Act of Congress in July 1942, and it was the first U.S. decoration that could be awarded to citizens of other nations. It could be awarded for combat or noncombat services, and served to recognize those "who shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services." DeBakey received the award for his contributions toward the development of auxiliary surgical groups, later called mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Norman Thomas Kirk, a native of Maryland, graduated from the University of Maryland in 1910, and proceeded to become a well-known military surgeon. During World War I he worked at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C., and is credited with having treated at least one-third of major amputations performed during the war. He provided valuable service at various hospitals throughout the country and headed a hospital for specialized treatment of soldiers during World War II. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Kirk Surgeon General, and under his guidance "the U.S. Army in World War II achieved a record of recovery from wounds and freedom from disease never before accomplished in history." Many years later, in August 1960, DeBakey operated on Kirk's aneurysm, but Kirk died a week later. Other individuals in this photo have not been identified." width="2280" height="1821" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_-380x304.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_-760x607.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33963" class="wp-caption-text">1945: Michael DeBakey receiving the Legion of Merit Award from Surgeon General Norman Thomas Kirk. The Legion of Merit was established by an Act of Congress in July 1942, and it was the first U.S. decoration that could be awarded to citizens of other nations. The Legion of Merit could be awarded for combat or noncombat services, and served to recognize those “who shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services.” Dr. Michael DeBakey received the award for his many contributions toward the development of auxiliary surgical groups, later called mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units.</figcaption></figure> <p>While getting started at Baylor, Dr. DeBakey served on the Medical Advisory Committee of the Hoover Commission, appointed by President Harry Truman and chaired by former President Herbert Hoover to reorganize the executive branch. He helped transfer the Navy hospital in Houston to the Veterans Administration. With his guidance, the veterans’ hospital affiliated with Baylor, and became the home of Houston’s first surgical residency program. DeBakey hired a younger surgeon, Denton Cooley, to work with him at Baylor. For over a decade, the pair would work as a very successful team.</p> <figure id="attachment_33993" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33993" style="width: 698px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33993 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33993 size-full lazyload" alt="1955: Michael DeBakey at home sewing a Dacron artificial artery, 1955. (Baylor College of Medicine Archives)" width="698" height="504" data-sizes="(max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl.jpg 698w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl-380x274.jpg 380w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33993" class="wp-caption-text">1955: Michael DeBakey sewing a Dacron artificial artery. He pioneered the use of Dacron grafts to replace or repair blood vessels. In 1958, to counteract the narrowing of an artery caused by obstructive deposits, he performed the first successful patch-grafted angioplasty. This new procedure involved patching the slit in the artery from an endarterectomy with a Dacron or vein graft. The patch widened the artery so when it closed, the channel of the artery returned to normal size. The graft is now utilized around the world to repair or replace blood vessels.</figcaption></figure> <p>In the early 1950s, Dr. DeBakey’s prior invention of the roller pump became the basis of the new heart-lung machines that maintained the patient’s vital functions during surgery. With the aid of this device Dr. DeBakey was able to perform some of the first endarterectomies, removing blood clots and plaque material from inside the arteries.</p> <p>In 1952, he performed the first successful operation on an aneurysm, removing the affected part of the artery and replacing it with a graft from a cadaver artery. The following year he performed the first successful endarterectomy on a carotid artery, a procedure that has spared countless patients from devastating strokes. Dr. DeBakey made another breakthrough in 1958, using a Dacron patch, rather than cadaver tissue, to repair an artery after performing an endarterectomy. The Dacron patch, now in use around the world, made it possible to repair aneurysms of the aorta that had previously been inoperable.</p> <figure id="attachment_33582" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33582" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33582 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33582 size-full lazyload" alt="December 24, 1967: South African heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard wth Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz of Brooklyn, New York and Dr. Michael DeBakey of Houston, Texas while appearing on the CBS-TV program Face The Nation in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)" width="2280" height="1578" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206-380x263.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206-760x526.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33582" class="wp-caption-text">December 24, 1967: South African heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard with Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz of Brooklyn, New York and Dr. Michael DeBakey of Houston, Texas on the CBS-TV program <i>Face The Nation</i> in Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1963, Dr. DeBakey received the Lasker Award, the most prestigious honor in American medicine, but his greatest achievements still lay ahead. The following year, while attempting an endarterectomy that proved too difficult to complete, Dr. DeBakey tried a coronary bypass procedure that had only been performed successfully in dogs. In doing so, he became the first surgeon to perform a successful coronary bypass on a human patient. In 1966, Dr. DeBakey implanted a ventricular assist device (VAD) in a heart patient, removing the device after the patient‘s heart had recovered. He was the first surgeon to successfully use an implanted heart device, an important step to the development of the artificial heart.</p> <figure id="attachment_33609" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33609" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33609 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33609 lazyload" alt="April 10, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine, with photos of Dr. Denton Cooley (top) and Dr. Michael DeBakey. The DeBakey-Cooley imbroglio was in part rooted in this ethical dilemma. In 1969, Dr. Cooley sought to use an artificial heart as a temporary measure while the patient awaited a human heart from a donor. It was never clear how Dr. Cooley obtained the artificial heart developed by Dr. DeBakey, but a member of Dr. Cooley’s surgical team had once worked for Dr. DeBakey. DeBakey, who was out of town when the surgery was performed by Dr. Cooley, felt betrayed and was furious. The episode put federal grants at risk and resulted in Dr. Cooley’s censure by the American College of Physicians. DeBakey said that his onetime colleague “disappointed me with his ethics” and that his actions were “a little childish.” They didn’t speak for almost 40 years before they reconciled in 2007, one year before Dr. DeBakey’s death, at age 99. (Ralph Morse/Life Magazine/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)" width="2280" height="2897" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master-299x380.jpg 299w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master-598x760.jpg 598w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33609" class="wp-caption-text">April 10, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine, with photos of Dr. Denton Cooley (top) and Dr. Michael DeBakey. The DeBakey-Cooley imbroglio was in part rooted in this ethical dilemma. In 1969, Dr. Cooley sought to use an artificial heart as a temporary measure while the patient awaited a human heart from a donor. It was never clear how Dr. Cooley obtained the artificial heart developed by Dr. DeBakey, but a member of Dr. Cooley’s surgical team had once worked for Dr. DeBakey. DeBakey, who was out of town when the surgery was performed by Dr. Cooley, felt betrayed and was furious. The episode put federal grants at risk and resulted in Dr. Cooley’s censure by the American College of Physicians. DeBakey said that his onetime colleague “disappointed me with his ethics” and that his actions were “a little childish.” They didn’t speak for almost 40 years before they reconciled in 2007, one year before Dr. DeBakey’s death, at age 99. (Ralph Morse/Life Magazine/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure> <p>Dr. DeBakey made a great contribution to medical education when he introduced the practice of filming surgical procedures with an overhead camera, enabling medical students and surgeons in training to witness rare or unusual procedures at close range.</p> <p>Throughout the 1960s, Dr. DeBakey continued to serve as a consultant to the federal government. He was an early supporter of President Kennedy’s proposal to create the Medicare system of government-provided health insurance for the elderly. DeBakey’s stand put him at odds with the American Medical Association, but Medicare was eventually signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966.</p> <figure id="attachment_33961" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33961" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33961 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33961 lazyload" alt="1977: Michael DeBakey with second wife, Katrin, and newborn daughter, Olga. (W.R. Pittman)" width="2280" height="3246" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_-267x380.jpg 267w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_-534x760.jpg 534w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33961" class="wp-caption-text">1977: Michael DeBakey with second wife, German film actress, Katrin, and newborn daughter, Olga. (W.R. Pittman)</figcaption></figure> <p>Michael DeBakey was Chairman of the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke (1964) during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. Both President Johnson and his successor, President Richard Nixon, also turned to Dr. DeBakey for advice on their personal health issues. In 1969, President Nixon honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. For reasons that remain unclear, President Nixon later placed DeBakey on his notorious “enemies list.”</p> <figure id="attachment_33974" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33974" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33974 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33974 size-full lazyload" alt="1980s: Michael DeBakey in surgery." width="2280" height="1585" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_-380x264.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_-760x528.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33974" class="wp-caption-text">1980s: Dr. Michael DeBakey in surgery. He was “a perfectionist, intolerant of incompetence, sloppy thinking, and laziness.” Before mellowing in his later years, DeBakey had “a reputation for sometimes tyrannical behavior and firing assistants for making relatively minor errors like cutting a suture to the wrong length.” “If you were on the operating table,” Dr. DeBakey stated, “would you want a perfectionist or someone who cared little for detail?”</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1969, Dr. DeBakey led the separation of the Baylor medical school from its parent university, establishing Baylor College of Medicine as a separate institution. DeBakey served as President of Baylor College of Medicine from 1969 to 1979, and as Chancellor from 1979 to January 1996. The Department of Surgery at Baylor — along with numerous schools and other medical facilities — have been named in his honor. In the 1970s, Dr. DeBakey worked with Dr. Robert Jarvik in developing the artificial heart first successfully implanted in a human patient in 1982. In the 1990s, he worked with NASA engineers, adapting a miniature computer, which originally had been designed to monitor the flow of rocket fuel, to measure the flow of blood in a heart pump small enough for use in children.</p> <figure id="attachment_33991" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33991" style="width: 1206px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33991 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33991 size-full lazyload" alt="Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart." width="1206" height="1600" data-sizes="(max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126.jpg 1206w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126-286x380.jpg 286w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126-573x760.jpg 573w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33991" class="wp-caption-text">Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart. A pioneer in the development of an artificial heart, DeBakey was the first to use an external heart pump successfully in a patient — a left ventricular bypass pump. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and in 1987, President Reagan awarded him the National Medal of Science.</figcaption></figure> <p>Over the course of his career, Dr. DeBakey operated on over 60,000 patients, including former King Edward VIII of England and the deposed Shah of Iran. In 1996, he was summoned to Moscow to supervise quintuple-bypass surgery on Russian President Boris Yeltsin, enabling Yeltsin to complete his term of office.</p> <figure id="attachment_33987" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33987" style="width: 2191px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33987 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33987 lazyload" alt="Dr. Michael DeBakey addresses Academy delegates at the American Academy of Achievement Salute to Excellence program. (© Academy of Achievement)" width="2191" height="3300" data-sizes="(max-width: 2191px) 100vw, 2191px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium.jpg 2191w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium-252x380.jpg 252w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium-505x760.jpg 505w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33987" class="wp-caption-text">Golden Plate Awards Council member and famed surgeon, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, addresses student delegates and members at the American Academy of Achievement’s 1984 “Salute to Excellence” program in Minneapolis.</figcaption></figure> <p>At age 97, the doctor himself underwent open heart surgery — a so-called DeBakey procedure — to repair a tear in his aorta. The procedure was one he himself originated 50 years earlier. He was the oldest patient ever to undergo this operation. He recovered and enjoyed two more years of active life.</p> <figure id="attachment_35200" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35200" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-35200 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-35200 size-full lazyload" alt="US President George W. Bush (L), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (2nd R) and Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, present the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Michael DeBakey (2nd L), a pioneering heart surgeon, during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2008. DeBakey, now 99, received the country's highest civilian award for his work in developing complex cardiovascular procedures, which he has performed on over 60,000 patients, and for helping with the concepts for Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) for the US Military. AFP PHOTO/SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)" width="2280" height="1403" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688-380x234.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688-760x468.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-35200" class="wp-caption-text">April 23, 2008: President George W. Bush, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid present the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian award, to 99-year-old Dr. Michael DeBakey for his work in developing complex cardiovascular procedures during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure> <p>At the age of 99, Dr. DeBakey was still practicing medicine. In the last year of his life, he received the Congressional Gold Medal. He died two months short of his 100th birthday. Widowed and remarried, he was survived by his second wife and by a daughter and two of his four sons. The medical devices and surgical techniques he originated have extended the lives of countless men and women the world over.</p> </body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 1967 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.surgeon-medical-doctor">Surgeon/Medical Doctor</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> September 7, 1908 </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Death</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> July 11, 2008 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p class="inputText">No person did more to advance the surgical treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels than Dr. Michael DeBakey. As early as 1932, he developed components which became part of the first heart-lung machines. In 1936, he was one of the first to identify a connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. In the 1950s, DeBakey devised plastic tubing for repairing blood vessels, a treatment he applied to prevent recurring strokes, and kidney failure, and to restore circulation to limbs which might otherwise have been amputated. In 1963, DeBakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient’s damaged heart.</p> <p class="inputText">As Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University in Houston, Texas, he played a major role in the evolution of heart transplantation, artificial heart implantation and coronary bypass surgery. Countless men and women owe their lives to Dr. DeBakey’s work, and he was sometimes called upon to perform in the most conspicuous situations. When the life of Russian President Boris Yeltsin hung in the balance, Dr. DeBakey, already in his 80s, traveled to Russia to participate in the multiple-bypass operation that saved the ailing leader’s life.</p> <p class="inputText">Michael DeBakey received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association, and the René Leriche Award of the International Society of Surgery. Dr. DeBakey died on July 11, 2008 at the age of 99.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/lZGCXaTi6_0?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_35_28_12.Still009-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_35_28_12.Still009-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">Greatest Surgeon of the Twentieth Century</h2> <div class="sans-2">Houston, Texas</div> <div class="sans-2">March 2, 1991</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, do you remember the first heart operation that you performed? What went through your mind when you were doing it for the first time?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: You’ve got to remember, we didn’t just suddenly start doing heart operations. We were doing other things around the heart. Finally, when the heart-lung machine came along, we were able to go into the heart. First, you learn what you’ve got to do in the experimental laboratory. We did literally hundreds of bypass operations on dogs before we did it on a human being. So it’s not a first operation in many ways.</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/C3S9C6SHMdw?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_30_56_29.Still008-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_30_56_29.Still008-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Our first bypass operation actually developed as a kind of an accident. We had a patient, he wasn’t scheduled for a bypass operation. He was scheduled for what we call an endarterectomy, which we had been doing at that time, which was 1964. And because of the nature of the blockage, the plaque was such that we couldn’t separate it. We realized that we had to do something else, or else we couldn’t get him off the table. So we decided then and there to go ahead and do what we had been doing in dogs, which was about 50 percent successful. We just had to take that chance if we were going to try to save his life. Fortunately, it worked. It became the first successful coronary bypass.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, how important is risk in your work? Sometimes you do have to take chances. How often do you have to proceed without absolute evidence?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: You do have to take some risks. For example, when I did the first operation for stroke, that was the first successful endarterectomy. This was in 1953. We had no experimental model to go by. Technically, we had already proven that you could do an endarterectomy; you could separate the plaque from the artery. So all we had was the evidence that had been built up previously, showing that these lesions were associated with strokes, and that patients who had died of strokes were all found to have these lesions. There was a good correlation. Therefore the suggestion from all of these studies was that if you could remove that, you might prevent someone having a stroke.</p> <figure id="attachment_33954" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33954" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33954 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33954 size-full lazyload" alt="1969: At the time this portrait was done, Dr. DeBakey was working on several cardiac assist devices as well as a total artificial heart, and also exploring the possibilities and limitations of heart transplants. See, for example, "Human Cardiac Transplantation," "Orthotopic Cardiac Prosthesis: Preliminary Experiments," and "Current Directions in the Artificial Heart Program." His total artificial heart prototype (slightly modified) had just been implanted in a human patient by Dr. Denton Cooley without DeBakey's knowledge or permission, an event that destroyed their professional relationship. (Yousuf Karsh)" width="2280" height="2915" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_-297x380.jpg 297w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_-594x760.jpg 594w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33954" class="wp-caption-text">1969: Dr. Michael DeBakey was working on several cardiac assist devices as well as a total artificial heart, and also exploring the possibilities and limitations of heart transplants. His total artificial heart prototype had just been implanted in a human patient by Dr. Denton Cooley without Dr. DeBakey’s knowledge or permission, an event that destroyed their professional relationship. DeBakey said the artificial heart had been “developed by his team and was, in essence, stolen by Dr. Cooley to promote his glory and in violation of medical ethics.” (© Yousuf Karsh)</figcaption></figure> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/e3rOXOc3noI?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_04_36_13.Still004-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_04_36_13.Still004-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/courage/">Courage</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I had to take the risk on the first patient I did. He happened to be from Lake Charles, a bus driver who was having what we call TIA’s, transient ischemic attacks. And these attacks would occur in such a way that there wasn’t enough blood going to that part of the brain, and he would get partially paralyzed, temporarily, and have to stop, when he was driving a bus. He finally realized he couldn’t continue doing that. So his doctor sent him over here for us to look at. Not with that idea of doing this, but rather to see if there was anything we could do to help him. And I finally decided that this was the thing to do, and I talked with him about it, and explained to him it had never been done. But I explained to him what was involved, that the operation was a relatively simple technical procedure. And I think maybe because I was from Lake Charles too, he had confidence in what I said, and he submitted to it. Agreed. And it fortunately proved very successful. In fact, he lived 19 years after that, died of a heart attack. Never had any more transient ischemic attacks. So you do have to accept some risk sometimes.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_33977" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33977" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33977 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33977 lazyload" alt="1978: Michael DeBakey at the topping-out ceremony for the DeBakey Center for Biomedical Education and Research." width="2280" height="2831" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_-306x380.jpg 306w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_-612x760.jpg 612w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33977" class="wp-caption-text">1978: DeBakey at the topping-out ceremony for the DeBakey Center for Biomedical Education and Research.</figcaption></figure> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/9MajYcmhPWI?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_16_38_24.Still002-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_16_38_24.Still002-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>I had the same experience with the first patient I operated on for an aneurysm of the thoracic aorta in the chest. This was a man from Arkansas, and he was having a lot of pain, because this thing was ballooning out, pressing on structures. So I explained to him that we had done this in the abdomen, but nobody had ever done it successfully in the chest. I thought the same principles would apply. And he finally submitted, I think mostly because he was in such severe pain. He wanted anything to get some relief. Fortunately it was successful. And so he became a pioneer in lending his efforts to getting this done. That started us on the whole course of getting aneurysms in the chest. As time went on, we developed techniques for all aneurysms of the aorta.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, you’ve seen fit, from early in your career, to become involved in public debate of issues in the medical field. Medical research using animals is one of them.</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Yes. I have done so with the purpose of trying to direct the public’s attention to what I think is important for the public good, no matter what it is. Whether it was a recommendation to the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, for a regional medical program, or for regional medical libraries, or testifying before Congress about animal experimentation.</p> <figure id="attachment_33614" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33614" style="width: 900px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33614 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image10.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33614 lazyload" alt="LIFE cover from September 1981. The magazine story described the implantation of the world's second total artificial heart implant in a human." width="900" height="1161" data-sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image10.jpg 900w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image10-295x380.jpg 295w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image10-589x760.jpg 589w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image10.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33614" class="wp-caption-text">1981: <em>LIFE</em>‘s cover story describes the implantation of the world’s second total artificial heart implant in a human.</figcaption></figure> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/orlpzasQ9Gw?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_07_04_17.Still001-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_07_04_17.Still001-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>As far as animals are concerned, I don’t think the so-called animal activists have any greater concern for animals than we have. I have ten dogs in my house, and I don’t know how many birds. As pets. Even laboratory animals become the pets of the people in the laboratory. We certainly avoid any unnecessary harm or suffering to them. However I think it’s important to understand that, without doing animal research, you are going to stop doing certain types of research. Cardiovascular disease, for example. Everything that we do in cardiovascular work today is based upon animal research. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do anything that we do today so well. Coronary bypass is a great example. But the replacement of arteries, and grafts, things of that sort, all came from animal research. So to stop animal research, you see, is, I think, a way of saying, “Well, I don’t care about any future advances in medicine. Let people suffer.” I can’t accept that kind of philosophy. I don’t think that’s humane either.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><figure id="attachment_33583" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33583" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-33583 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33583 lazyload" alt="May 28, 1985: American heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in his office conference room at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. The American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award is hanging behind him. (AP Photo)" width="2280" height="1579" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100-380x263.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100-760x526.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33583" class="wp-caption-text">May 28, 1985: American heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in his office conference room at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. The American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award is hanging behind him. (AP Photo)</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>The Surgeon General’s report linking smoking to cancer didn’t appear until 1964, but you were reporting a link between smoking and lung cancer as early as 1939.</strong></p> </body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qa03avaWau8?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_25_53_08.Still003-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-Upscale-1of1.00_25_53_08.Still003-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael DeBakey: At that time, we were involved in the study of cancer of the lungs. And on the basis of our studies, we became convinced that there was a linkage with tobacco smoking. We didn’t know exactly what it was, all we knew was that statistically there was a linkage. Even today we don’t know. We aren’t sure of the exact reason, but there is a great deal more work that has been done to confirm the fact that there is a very definite linkage between smoking and cancer of the lung.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>You saw this issue more than 50 years ago. Did anybody listen?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Not at that time. No. We were pooh-poohed. It was an epidemiological, statistical study, and many scientists don’t like to use that, don’t like to accept that. Especially if they are smoking, you know? And as you go back to that period, people were smoking a lot; a lot of people were smoking, even our people. And after World War II, even more, when all of the soldiers came back. You know, during the war they were getting Lucky Strikes and Camel cigarettes free. So a lot of them took it on because they saw the advertisements. So, there is no question that it’s bad for you. We know a lot more about it now. It’s bad for you in terms of not only cancer of the lungs, but other conditions like asthma, emphysema, and heart disease.</p> <p><strong>What took so long? Why was public awareness so slow in coming?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/r8uilQezfvk?feature=oembed&hd=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_13_00_05.Still006-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-1991-MasterEdit.00_13_00_05.Still006-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, you’ve got to remember that there wasn’t a very strong movement; in other words, just a few of us sort of howling in the jungle, so to speak. And very few people paid any attention to it. And you’ve got to remember that the gap between smoking and the ultimate result may be 20 years, 30 years. See? So, at the moment, they don’t see anything harmful. That was much later. And that’s very difficult to appreciate by most people. People living today, they are not thinking about what’s going to happen to them tomorrow or next week.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body data-rsssl="1"><p><strong>More recently, you’ve addressed the issue of cholesterol and heart disease.</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: There is no question that, again, you see, there is a linkage statistically between high cholesterol and heart disease. There is no question about that. If you took 100 people with high cholesterol, and 100 without high cholesterol, normal cholesterol, there would be more of the group with high cholesterol that would develop heart disease than those who didn’t have it. But at the same time, there is a substantial number of those who have normal cholesterol who are going to develop heart disease. So it’s not a guarantee against developing heart disease. It is a way of reducing the risk, but not completely guaranteeing against its occurrence. In fact, something on the order of a third of the patients with coronary bypass that we do have perfectly normal cholesterol.</p> <figure id="attachment_33988" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33988" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-33988 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840im_/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_.jpg"></noscript><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-33988 size-full lazyload" alt="October 18, 2006: Michael DeBakey at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Michael E. DeBakey Library and Museum." width="2280" height="2280" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_.jpg 2280w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_-190x190.jpg 190w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_-380x380.jpg 380w, /web/20210905051840im_/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_-760x760.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210905051840/https://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_.jpg"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-33988" class="wp-caption-text">October 18, 2006: Dr. DeBakey at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Michael E. DeBakey Library and Museum.</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Why is something like that so controversial?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, that’s one reason why it’s controversial, you see. Because you can’t explain it, all of it, on the basis of cholesterol. But those who are working in the cholesterol field feel strongly about it, and they are recommending that everybody reduce their cholesterol level, you see. But there is no good, no good evidence that if you reduce your cholesterol level to below two hundred that you are going to be protected completely, and guaranteed against having a heart attack. So there is a certain amount of controversy, because the evidence is not absolute.</p> </body></html> </div>    <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, what drew you to become a physician?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: There were physicians in my family. My father was in the pharmaceuticals business and, in a small town, the drug store is a place where doctors hang out and have their prescriptions filled. I got to see a lot of doctors and was immersed in it in the drug store. I decided I wanted to be a doctor, that’s all.</p> <p>People used to come into the drug store and ask my father for advice about, you know, what they had. If they had diarrhea, they wanted a drug, or something like that. But he was very cautious about what he said. And I asked him one time, you know, how did he know that was the right thing to do. And he said, well, it didn’t really matter what I gave him, he was going to get well anyway. He says, if I was concerned about him, I would send him to the doctor. Which he of course would do.</p> <p><strong>Traditional Chinese herbalists do the same thing.</strong></p> <p>But in China, these herbalists have a great tradition. They have been doing it for thousands of years. And to some extent this occurs in other societies as well, but in China it is highly structured. They took me to one of their pharmacies on one occasion when I was there. It was out in the country. And they had these things in different drawers, you see, and jars, and so on. And I said, where do you get all this? They said, well, out in the field. And there was this big field out there. They went out there and got these various things, you know.</p> <p><strong>And they believe in it.</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well sure. If you believe in it, it’s good for you. Like holy water.</p> <p><strong>What was it like growing up in Cajun country? What was your boyhood like in Louisiana?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, it was very nice. Lake Charles a small town, and everybody knows everybody. When I was growing up, the population was about 13,000. There was a church on every corner, so the churches had a great influence on your life. Not only through Sunday school but, for example, the Boy Scout troop I belonged to was sponsored by the church. I played in the band, and the orchestra, and went to camp every summer which was also sponsored by the Boy Scouts. Fortunately, I made good grades in school. I liked school, I enjoyed it.</p> <p>My parents were supportive of our learning. For example, they insisted that we go to the library and pick up a book once a week at least, in addition to what we did (for school). In fact, I came back and I told my father that I had found some books that I thought were very fascinating, and it sure would be nice if we had some at home like that. And he said, what is it, and I said, the <em>Encyclopaedia Britannica</em>. And so he did, he bought it for us. And every one of us — I read the whole <em>Encyclopaedia Britannica</em> before I got to college. And all of my sisters and brothers did the same thing. So you know, it’s a fascinating world. It was like the whole world opening up, when you read something like that.</p> <p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, who were the people who were important to you growing up?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Just my father and mother. They had a great impact. My father was a strict disciplinarian, and besides being very strict, it was obvious that he loved us, because he gave us anything we wanted. He bought a second hand car, an old Studebaker for my brother and me when I was 14 so that we could take the motor apart learn all about the motor. Then we put it together again. My mother was a very compassionate person who taught us compassion.</p> <p>I remember one incident when — there was an orphanage in our town — and every Sunday afternoon after church, we would drive out to the orphanage and my mother would bake cookies and bread, and things like that. And in addition to that, she always took some clothes out there, especially clothes that we had outgrown. And on one occasion, there was a cap that I liked very much, that I noticed that she had put in the box that she was taking out there. And I complained about it, you see, and I said, “No, I don’t want you to give them that cap.” And she said, “You’ve got a new one. And you don’t need this old cap.” And she made me realize that there were children there that were not as secure economically, were not as well off as I was. And that I ought to share with them. So I learned to see that early in life.</p> <p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, it’s been written about you that you’re a perfectionist.</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Yes. I think I learned that from my parents too. My father was always pointing out to us that if a thing was worth doing, you should do it as well as you possibly can. So, he expected us to make one hundred on everything. It was done in a stimulating way, so we didn’t rebel against any of it. We didn’t have to. We knew he loved us, and we knew they would give us everything..</p> <p>All through my formal education, both in high school and college, I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to get one hundred in everything. And I came close to it. Not all the time. One occasion, for example, I remember in freshman math at college. I thought I was pretty good in math, I never made less than one hundred. And when the grades came out the first semester, I had an 80, and I was nearly shocked. So I decided I would go and see the professor, who was a brilliant mathematician too. And there were only about ten or 15 in that class, so when I went to see him to complain about it, more to ask him, you know, what did I do wrong, and so on. He said, “I don’t know why you are complaining. You are the only one that passed.”</p> <p><strong>Dr. DeBakey, besides your parents, who influenced you to be what you have become?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Dr. Alton Ochsner certainly was, from a surgical standpoint, my mentor, and the one who influenced me more than anyone else. He was also, like my father, a very strict disciplinarian, and a perfectionist. I liked the way he did things, even though he made you toe the mark. He was almost like a father to me. Took me under his wing, and helped me in every possible way, especially in the research laboratory. He was a brilliant researcher himself. I learned a great deal from him, in terms of how you develop yourself, how you conduct yourself, and the importance of experience and the importance of doing things until you do it perfectly. He had a great influence on me. I am really indebted to his memory, for what he did for me.</p> <p><strong>When did you first know that this work is what you wanted to do?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, you’ve got to understand that when I started, there wasn’t anything, no… there was no cardiovascular surgery. See? So I couldn’t have known then that I was going to do this. In other words, I, along with many others, began the development of cardiovascular surgery. In that accord, as we were doing experimental work, that led us in various directions.</p> <p><strong>And how do you become a pioneer, in this field or any other? Was there a moment, was there an experience that led you in this direction?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well its… I suppose its research in almost any field of endeavor, whether its philosophy, or music, or anything else. Its doing investigation and research that leads you ultimately into something that proves to be useful. Or, lets say desirable or helpful. So, and I got into research when I was a medical student. Working my first year as a technician, helping doctors in the laboratory. And as a consequence of my research, I became more and more interested in the circulation, and doing research in circulation led me, or course, since I was primarily trained in surgery, into the surgical treatment of circulatory diseases.</p> <p><strong>Is it possible to articulate in so many words what drives you?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: I think working at it, so to speak, and focusing attention on a problem. I think you are driven by the gratification that comes from doing it. I think once you enjoy having accomplished a task, whatever it is, whether you are writing an essay, or whatever it is, once you enjoy doing it, then that in itself becomes the motivation for doing more. And certainly that is true in medicine. To be sure, we don’t always have ecstasy when I am at work. There is some agony too. But there is enough ecstasy to drive you, you see, and to motivate you.</p> <p><strong>What inspires invention in medicine, whether it be the pump, or the heart monitor machine, or coming up with a way of grafting frozen blood vessels, or the bypass, the heart transplant. Is it crisis? Is it frustration?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: I just think it’s a challenge. You know, you keep working at it, its challenging, until you accomplish it. Sometimes you don’t ever do it, and you have to shift, so to speak from that. But you continue, largely driven by the fact that you have accomplished some things, and you know the gratification that comes from doing it. So you continue, until you do it, or else you decide to go on to something else.</p> <p><strong>You talk about the agony and the ecstasy. What are the agonies of your work?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, mostly the inability to solve the patient’s problems. Having a patient either die or disabled. And that’s, I think, the agonizing part. Because you work hard, and you try. You work a lot of time and then the patient doesn’t do well. And that simply means that we haven’t gotten all the knowledge we need, to accomplish all these goals. And so, fortunately, only a small percentage of cases now, I would say 98 percent of the cases do well. And that in itself is a driving force.</p> <p><strong>And how would you describe the ecstasies?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, the ecstasies come primarily from the fact that you have accomplished your purpose. Let’s say and individual who is, lets say, suffering, whether it is a heart attack, or angina, and now he is well, and leading a normal life. That’s extremely gratifying. I think human beings have an innate desire to help each other. And whether you are in medicine or anything else, I mean, if you see someone that you can help, next to you and he hurts himself in some way and you can help him, you get a gratification from doing it. You don’t have to be a medical doctor. I think in general that’s true. In fact, I think that is perhaps the most important, you might say fabric that holds the society together. Is the compassion that exists, the welfare of everyone in the society, whether it began in tribes, or protection in the very early days, or whether in the highly civilized structure that we now have. I think in many respects is it unfortunate that we have to do some of it by means that doesn’t give us gratification. Like taxation. You see? So you aren’t able to do it directly. Its so indirect you don’t get any feel for it. That’s one of the great advantages that we have, and especially in surgery, because you are laying on your hands.</p> <p><strong>How do you handle the pressures of the life and death situations that you are in so often?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, I don’t regard them so much as pressures, to be perfectly honest with you. I mean, people ask me about that in terms of stress. The truth of the matter is, I’m really at greater ease in the operating room, and when I’m focusing my attention so much on what I am doing that I don’t even hear the music that may be playing in the room. I think one has to understand, and its difficult for one who isn’t in it, really, to understand it, because there is no way I can describe it. But, what we do is, in a sense, develop as a part of a team. And you are responsible for the team, and you are heading it, and so you, in a sense are directing it. Much the same way that a director of an orchestra, the leader of an orchestra. He’s got to direct everybody that’s in there, and they’ve got to be playing the right notes at the right time, and so on. And so, our attention is so focused and so intense, that we don’t think of the fact… that we are under stress. Now, I think you go on, as you are doing your work, and its moving along very nicely, fine. Its when you find it a frustration in getting it accomplished. That becomes stressful. But then you do the best you can. But you know, experience, repeated experience helps you in dealing with it.</p> <p><strong>What is a day in the life of Dr. Michael DeBakey like?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: I usually get up about 4:30 or five o’clock, and I work in my study for maybe a couple of hours, mostly studying data or writing, and then I come to the hospital. I get to the hospital between 6:30 and seven. And then I check on the cases I’ve got operating, that morning. Usually by 7:30 we are in the operating room, starting operations. Depending upon what the load is, I may be through by three or four o’clock. Then, I will often take the necessary calls that have accumulated, try to get to some correspondence. And then I’ve got to see patients that are coming in as outpatients, and also patients that are in the hospital being prepared for an operation the next day. Or there may be a committee meeting I have to attend, or meet with my people in the research laboratory, to go over certain things that they are doing, and sort of bringing up to date where we are. Certain subjects that we are dealing with, things of that sort. So by eight or nine o’clock, I’ll get home and have something to eat. And usually by eleven, between eleven and twelve, I go to bed.</p> <p><strong>That doesn’t leave much time for a personal life, it seems. How do you balance a professional life like yours with the demands of a private life?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: That is my life, so I don’t make that distinction. People ask me about vacations. I’ve never deliberately taken a vacation. I don’t see any need for a vacation. On weekends, I have a little time. Like today, for example, I’ve got some people to meet, and there’s a manuscript I’ve got to get done by Monday. It’s already past the deadline, so I’ll be working all evening and all day tomorrow on it. I may have to go to the hospital and see one or two patients, but that’s all.</p> <p><strong>If a young man or woman came to you for advice for what it takes to have this kind of career, what it takes to achieve something, what would your advice to them be?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, it takes dedication, and self-discipline. That’s what it takes. You’ve got to be dedicated to whatever you are doing, and you’ve got to be disciplined so that you know where your priorities are. I mean, if you are going to do it well, then you are going to have to give up some of these things that — in terms of priority — are not important. Like going to a movie, watching television. They are not going to improve your ability to do the task that you’ve got. If reading will improve it, then you’ve got to read, see? And learn what’s happening, or what has been published about it. So that becomes a priority, not going to a movie, not going to a cocktail party.</p> <p>So self-discipline, and dedication are the two most important parts, I think, for young people to understand and appreciate. For a satisfying career in life, whatever it is, you know, whether its music, if you are going to play music you are going to have…. Now even, take the best musicians in the world, you.. they are still, when they are at the top, they are practicing six hours a day. Now they have already accomplished the pinnacle, why are they practicing six hours a day? Because they know that that’s why they are at the top. And they are not satisfied with anything less than perfection. And in order to be perfect, you’ve got to do that. See? So in any field of endeavor, if you want to really reach the top, you are going to have to devote time to it. Devote time to getting… and effort. And the self-discipline is in a sense that helps you determine the priorities for that purpose. In other words, for me, its the cocktail party is the lowest thing on my priority list. I never make it. See what I mean?</p> <p><strong>And, I know this is a subject close to your heart, at least you have lived your life this way. But in your words, what is the role and the responsibility of a physician in the community, in society?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: I think his role and responsibility is more than just being a physician. He is also an educated person, so he should be… you know, I had, I had my residents in not long ago, a conference, and they usually, its a conference that’s unstructured. And I had one conference that is completely unstructured. So they come in and they decide what they want to talk about. It could be about anything. And it so happened that day that the ones who had been selected by the residents to decide where in an emergency operation and couldn’t be there, and so they didn’t have a topic. And I said, well, you all suggest one. And they said, Dr., why don’t you suggest something. And I said, alright, lets talk about poetry. And that shocked them. Because I asked them to name a poem that they thought was one they enjoyed, and liked very much, and they couldn’t name one. Which I found astonishing. So I had to…. well, they finally asked me, and I said, well, I have a number of them, but I’ll give you one anyway. I’m sure all of you will remember it now. Gray’s “Elegy Written in a County Courtyard” They couldn’t remember it. So then I gave them a little lecture. I said, you know, you are supposed to be educated, you are not just a physician. You are supposed to be educated, and as an educated person you therefore have a responsibility for education. See?</p> <p>So I think a physician must play, in addition to his role as a doctor and taking care of his practice and so on, he must also play a role in you might say the issue of ethical values. And help to stand for values, for standards.</p> <p><strong>I thought the poem you were going to give me was Tennyson’s <em>Ulysses:</em> “To strive to seek and find, and not to yield.”</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Yeah, well that’s one of them, that’s another one. Oh, there are half a dozen of them, you know. I really am ill about that. I said, you know, its a.. all of you have been educated. You’ve gone through college, you’ve got a bachelor’s degree before you got into medical school, and now you’ve got an MD degree, and I said, one or two of you are probably the Kappas. I can’t understand it. You’ve forgotten everything you’ve learned. You know. The English language is just filled with great classic poems. Beautiful things. And you can’t think of one? That’s terrible. They were pretty shame-faced. They came back the next week and expressed their feeling of regret about not being well educated. And then realized, you know, that I’d caught them off guard. They really did know some of it.</p> <p><strong>Of all the accomplishments, what is the most rewarding?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: I don’t know. I’ve been asked that question before. It’s difficult to say. Because, you know, the gratification comes from having developed techniques and procedures that have helped so many people, and others are doing them now routinely. So therefore, its a standard for all over the world. But I suppose the thing I am most gratified by are the people I have trained. Because they are the ones that carry on. Not only, I mean, some of them are going to carry on your views, your standards, your values. And perhaps can inspire others, you see. And I have, in fact they, my trainees have organized themselves into a society, called the M. E. DeBakey International Surgical Society. I’m not a member. (laughs) They invite me to all of their meetings though. They have meetings twice a year… I mean once every two years. And, you know, its very enjoyable to see, very gratifying to see how well some of them are doing now. They are… some of them have distinguished themselves.</p> <p><strong>Looking back, is there anything you wish you could do over again? Any second thoughts about anything?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: No, I don’t have second thoughts. I don’t look back a great deal, you know. I’ve enjoyed what pleasures have come to me in the past, but you can’t dwell on the past. The past is past. So, there is still life left, and you’ve got some, you’ve got the future to look at. So, I don’t dwell on the past at all, even on the bad parts. Obviously, you know, if you knew everything you know now, when you were twenty, you might do things a little differently. But that’s obviously impossible.</p> <p><strong>What are you looking forward to doing now?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, I’m looking forward to continue as long as I can physically and mentally, with the things that I enjoy doing. Which is doing some of my work here, teaching responsibilities, and my research. There is still a lot of unknowns in the field that we are in. But I don’t think, I’m not sure I will live to see them solved, either. But the pleasure comes from participating, and trying to solve them. That’s what I will continue trying to do.</p> <p><strong>If there was one problem you could solve, what would that be?</strong></p> <p>Michael DeBakey: Well, it would be arterial sclerosis. Its the biggest problem we have. Causes more deaths than all the other diseases combined. And costs the country more, economically. So if you could solve that problem, you would do a great thing for society, all over the world. Every disease that we have solved is evidence of the fact that it can be. You see? So it can be done, and it will be done. I just hope I live to see it.</p> <p><strong>Thank you. Thank you.</strong></p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>55 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79868421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Michael-DeBakey-at-Methodist-Hospital-1978.jpg" data-image-caption="Michael DeBakey at Methodist Hospital in 1978. (Courtesy of the Baylor College of Medicine Archives)" data-image-copyright="This publicity photo of Michael DeBakey, taken by Methodist Hosp" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Michael-DeBakey-at-Methodist-Hospital-1978-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Michael-DeBakey-at-Methodist-Hospital-1978-760x607.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2709030100334" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_.jpg" data-image-caption="1930s: Portrait of Dr. Alton Ochsner. During DeBakey's senior year at Tulane University School of Medicine, he worked in the laboratory of legendary vascular surgeon Dr. Alton Ochsner, who succeeded Dr. Rudolph Matas, the "father of vascular surgery," as Chairman of the Department of Surgery. Ochsner became the mentor who directed the early development of DeBakey's medical career, and between 1932 and 1942, the two men published numerous scientific articles, including the first publication on the relationship of cancer of the lung to tobacco smoking." data-image-copyright="fjbbcn_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_-299x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCN_-598x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69210526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100.jpg" data-image-caption="May 28, 1985: American heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in his office conference room at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. The American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award is hanging behind him. (AP Photo)" data-image-copyright="Dr. Michael DeBakey" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100-380x263.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_8505280100-760x526.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.77236842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_99033002378.jpg" data-image-caption="January 12, 1999: Dr. Michael DeBakey, 90, at Methodist Hospital, January 12, 1999, in Houston, Texas. DeBakey has developed more than 50 surgical instruments; performed more than 60,000 cardiovascular procedures, pioneering many of them; trained more than 1,000 surgeons; written more than 1,400 articles or books; received 50 honorary degrees, and been given hundreds of awards. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)" data-image-copyright="DEBAKEY" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_99033002378-380x293.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_99033002378-760x587.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2297734627832" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Christiaan-Barnard.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Christiaan N. Barnard, the South African surgeon who performed the world's first human heart transplant in 1967. In his autobiography, <i>One Life</i>, Barnard wrote about observing Cooley in surgery: “It was the most beautiful surgery I had ever seen... Every movement had a purpose and achieved its aim. Where most surgeons would take three hours, he could do the same operation in one hour. It went forward like a broad river — never obvious in haste, yet never going back... No one in the world, I knew, could equal it.”" data-image-copyright="christiaan-barnard" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Christiaan-Barnard-309x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Christiaan-Barnard-618x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79078947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNQ_.jpg" data-image-caption="1920s: Michael DeBakey working in the family garden with his father and brother." data-image-copyright="fjbbnq_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNQ_-380x301.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNQ_-760x601.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4074074074074" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBW_.jpg" data-image-caption="1915: Portrait of Michael DeBakey's parents, Raheeja and Shaker DeBakey." data-image-copyright="1915: Portrait of Michael DeBakey's parents, Raheeja and Shaker DeBakey." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBW_-270x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBW_-540x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DeBakey-DAC-8x10-DSC_0281.jpg" data-image-caption="Michael E. DeBakey and Denton A. Cooley as DeBakey accepts a lifetime achievement award and honorary membership from the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society, October 27, 2007." data-image-copyright="Michael E. DeBakey and Denton A. Cooley 10-27-07" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DeBakey-DAC-8x10-DSC_0281-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DeBakey-DAC-8x10-DSC_0281-760x608.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78947368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Drs.-Owen-H.-Wangensteen-and-Christiaan-Barnard.jpg" data-image-caption="Christiaan Barnard completed a surgical residency at the University of Minnesota from 1956-1958. After completing his Ph.D., Barnard returned to his home country of South Africa, where he performed that country’s first open heart surgery in 1958. Barnard later performed the first successful heart transplant in the world on December 3, 1967." data-image-copyright="drs-owen-h-wangensteen-and-christiaan-barnard" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Drs.-Owen-H.-Wangensteen-and-Christiaan-Barnard-380x300.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Drs.-Owen-H.-Wangensteen-and-Christiaan-Barnard-760x600.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2709030100334" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master.jpg" data-image-caption="April 10, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine, with photos of Dr. Denton Cooley (top) and Dr. Michael DeBakey. The DeBakey-Cooley imbroglio was in part rooted in this ethical dilemma. In 1969, Dr. Cooley sought to use an artificial heart as a temporary measure while the patient awaited a human heart from a donor. It was never clear how Dr. Cooley obtained the artificial heart developed by Dr. DeBakey, but a member of Dr. Cooley’s surgical team had once worked for Dr. DeBakey. DeBakey, who was out of town when the surgery was performed by Dr. Cooley, felt betrayed and was furious. The episode put federal grants at risk and resulted in Dr. Cooley’s censure by the American College of Physicians. DeBakey said that his onetime colleague “disappointed me with his ethics” and that his actions were “a little childish.” They didn’t speak for almost 40 years before they reconciled in 2007, one year before Dr. DeBakey’s death, at age 99. (Ralph Morse/Life Magazine/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Cover of LIFE w. logo, dated 04-10-1970, w. photos" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master-299x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-53380313_master-598x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.74342105263158" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image6.jpg" data-image-caption="The Jefferson Davis Hospital house staff (residents and interns) and medical staff. Cooley is standing next to Mike DeBakey (end of second row, right)." data-image-copyright="image6" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image6-380x283.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image6-760x565.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79736842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image11.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Helen Taussig and Dr. Dan McNamara at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) in March 1970. Dr. Taussig was attending a conference at THI." data-image-copyright="image11" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image11-380x303.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image11-760x606.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.198738170347" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBD_.jpg" data-image-caption="1935: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age 27." data-image-copyright="1935: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age 27." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBD_-317x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBD_-634x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2794612794613" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_.jpg" data-image-caption="1969: At the time this portrait was done, Dr. DeBakey was working on several cardiac assist devices as well as a total artificial heart, and also exploring the possibilities and limitations of heart transplants. See, for example, "Human Cardiac Transplantation," "Orthotopic Cardiac Prosthesis: Preliminary Experiments," and "Current Directions in the Artificial Heart Program." His total artificial heart prototype (slightly modified) had just been implanted in a human patient by Dr. Denton Cooley without DeBakey's knowledge or permission, an event that destroyed their professional relationship. (Yousuf Karsh)" data-image-copyright="fjbbqh_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_-297x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBQH_-594x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69210526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206.jpg" data-image-caption="December 24, 1967: South African heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard wth Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz of Brooklyn, New York and Dr. Michael DeBakey of Houston, Texas while appearing on the CBS-TV program <I>Face The Nation</I> in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)" data-image-copyright="DeBakey Kantrowitz Barnard" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206-380x263.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AP_6712240206-760x526.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.70394736842105" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGX_.jpg" data-image-caption="1978: Michael DeBakey by his own statue at the Alkek Tower Dedication. DeBakey had an office in the Alkek Tower of the Fondren/Brown Building. He played an active role in securing funds for the tower, an addition that was created with the goal of expanding research at Baylor College of Medicine. The tower is named for Albert Alkek, whose patronage of DeBakey's cardiovascular research "launched Baylor College of Medicine into the top tier of academic medicine." Alkek was an oilman and lifelong friend of DeBakey. His wife, Margaret McFarland Alkek, was also a great patron of the Baylor College of Medicine. DeBakey said of the Alkeks: "When you try to measure, or describe, the impact the Alkek has had on the Texas Medical Center, it's practically unimaginable. People, not just in Houston but nationally and worldwide, are benefitting from heart pumps, techniques, and technologies that were developed here, in facilities provided largely by Albert Alkek and, subsequently, the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation." (Baylor College of Medicine Archives)" data-image-copyright="fjbbgx_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGX_-380x268.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGX_-760x535.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78421052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNP_.jpg" data-image-caption="1960s: Michael DeBakey and his surgical team at work." data-image-copyright="1960s: Michael DeBakey and his surgical team at work." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNP_-380x298.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBNP_-760x596.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.68421052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_.jpg" data-image-caption="1935: Michael DeBakey observing surgery at the Leriche Clinic in Strasbourg, France." data-image-copyright="fjbbcr_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_-380x260.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCR_-760x520.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.6926503340757" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_.jpg" data-image-caption="1930: Michael DeBakey in New Orleans, about age 22." data-image-copyright="1930: Michael DeBakey in New Orleans, about age 22]. Photographic Print." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_-225x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVB_-449x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79342105263158" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCL_.jpg" data-image-caption="1964: Michael DeBakey with President Lyndon B. Johnson." data-image-copyright="1964: Michael DeBakey with President Lyndon B. Johnson." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCL_-380x302.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCL_-760x603.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2398042414356" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBFR_.jpg" data-image-caption="1967: Michael DeBakey and his cardiovascular team about to board a plane for Italy and Yugoslavia. (Courtesy of Katrin DeBakey)" data-image-copyright="fjbbfr_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBFR_-306x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBFR_-613x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79868421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_.jpg" data-image-caption="1945: Michael DeBakey receiving the Legion of Merit Award from Surgeon General Norman Thomas Kirk. The Legion of Merit was established by an Act of Congress in July 1942, and it was the first U.S. decoration that could be awarded to citizens of other nations. It could be awarded for combat or noncombat services, and served to recognize those "who shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services." DeBakey received the award for his contributions toward the development of auxiliary surgical groups, later called mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Norman Thomas Kirk, a native of Maryland, graduated from the University of Maryland in 1910, and proceeded to become a well-known military surgeon. During World War I he worked at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C., and is credited with having treated at least one-third of major amputations performed during the war. He provided valuable service at various hospitals throughout the country and headed a hospital for specialized treatment of soldiers during World War II. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Kirk Surgeon General, and under his guidance "the U.S. Army in World War II achieved a record of recovery from wounds and freedom from disease never before accomplished in history." Many years later, in August 1960, DeBakey operated on Kirk's aneurysm, but Kirk died a week later. Other individuals in this photo have not been identified." data-image-copyright="fjbbcb_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCB_-760x607.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994966_master.jpg" data-image-caption="May 2, 1998: Cardiologist Dr. Denton Cooley in Houston, Texas. (Pam Francis/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Houston Cardiologist - Dr. Denton Cooley" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994966_master-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994966_master-760x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2179487179487" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVC_.jpg" data-image-caption="1928: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age 20." data-image-copyright="1928: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age 20." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVC_-312x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVC_-624x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4232209737828" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_.jpg" data-image-caption="1977: Michael DeBakey with second wife, Katrin, and newborn daughter, Olga. (W.R. Pittman)" data-image-copyright="fjbbvm_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_-267x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVM_-534x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.68552631578947" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCT_.jpg" data-image-caption="1967: Michael DeBakey with Baylor University surgical staff. (Courtesy of Katrin DeBakey)" data-image-copyright="fjbbct_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCT_-380x261.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCT_-760x521.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2541254125413" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1.jpg" data-image-caption="1910: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age two." data-image-copyright="1910: Portrait of Michael DeBakey, age 2." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1-303x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBC_-1-606x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.64868421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVD_.jpg" data-image-caption="1930s: Michael DeBakey, with his first wife, Diana, on an early trip." data-image-copyright="1930s: Michael DeBakey, with his first wife Diana on an early trip." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVD_-380x246.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVD_-760x493.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.80657894736842" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCW_.jpg" data-image-caption="1981: Michael DeBakey performing surgery." data-image-copyright="1981: Michael DeBakey performing surgery." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCW_-380x306.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCW_-760x613.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5866388308977" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCG_.jpg" data-image-caption="1975: Michael DeBakey and his wife, Katrin, at home." data-image-copyright="1975: Michael DeBakey and his wife Katrin at home." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCG_-240x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCG_-479x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994965_master.jpg" data-image-caption="May 2, 1998: Cardiologist Dr. Denton Cooley in Houston, Texas. Over four decades, Cooley performed an estimated 65,000 open heart surgeries at the Texas Heart Institute, drawing patients from around the globe. (Photo by Pam Francis/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Houston Cardiologist - Dr. Denton Cooley" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994965_master-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GettyImages-2994965_master-760x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.55789473684211" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBY_.jpg" data-image-caption="1940: Michael DeBakey with his first wife, Diana, and their son Michael Maurice (age 9 months)." data-image-copyright="fjbbby_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBY_-380x212.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBY_-760x424.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDB_.jpg" data-image-caption="1961: Michael DeBakey with his sisters and father at the Pioneer Club in Lake Charles, Louisiana." data-image-copyright="fjbbdb_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDB_-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDB_-760x608.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69473684210526" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_.jpg" data-image-caption="1980s: Michael DeBakey in surgery." data-image-copyright="1980s: Michael DeBakey in surgery" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_-380x264.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVJ_-760x528.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.77894736842105" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVF_.jpg" data-image-caption="1950s: Michael DeBakey with his first wife, Diana, and their sons, Michael Maurice, Denis Alton, Ernest Ochsner, and Barry Edward." data-image-copyright="fjbbvf_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVF_-380x296.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBVF_-760x592.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78421052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCM_.jpg" data-image-caption="1965: Michael DeBakey with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor." data-image-copyright="1965: Michael DeBakey with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCM_-380x298.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCM_-760x596.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2418300653595" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_.jpg" data-image-caption="1978: Michael DeBakey at the topping-out ceremony for the DeBakey Center for Biomedical Education and Research." data-image-copyright="fjbbdg_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_-306x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDG_-612x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.70789473684211" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDK_.jpg" data-image-caption="1970s: Mary Lasker visiting Michael DeBakey at the hospital." data-image-copyright="1970s: Mary Lasker visiting Michael DeBakey at the hospital." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDK_-380x269.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDK_-760x538.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.20826709062" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Portrait-of-Michael-DeBakey-in-suit-slightly-slouched-12-April-1969_.jpg" data-image-caption="April 12, 1969: Dr. Michael E. DeBakey. (Yousuf Karsh)" data-image-copyright="April 12, 1969: Dr. Michael E. DeBakey. (Photo by Yousuf Karsh)" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Portrait-of-Michael-DeBakey-in-suit-slightly-slouched-12-April-1969_-314x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Portrait-of-Michael-DeBakey-in-suit-slightly-slouched-12-April-1969_-629x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3718411552347" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBT_.jpg" data-image-caption="1978: Michael DeBakey" data-image-copyright="1978: Michael DeBakey" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBT_-277x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBT_-554x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.72206303724928" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl.jpg" data-image-caption="1955: Michael DeBakey at home sewing a Dacron artificial artery, 1955. (Baylor College of Medicine Archives)" data-image-copyright="fjbbbl" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl-380x274.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fjbbbl.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.326352530541" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart." data-image-copyright="Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126-286x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey_00003126-573x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5800415800416" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Michael_DeBakey.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart." data-image-copyright="Dr. Michael DeBakey holding an artificial heart." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Michael_DeBakey-240x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Michael_DeBakey-481x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.57368421052632" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDP_.jpg" data-image-caption="1957: Frank B. Rogers and the NLM Board of Regents. Back row, standing: Dr. Ernest Volwiler, Dr. Jean A. Curran, Dr. Benjamin Spector, Dr. William S. Middleton, Dr. John T. Wilson, Major General S. B. Hays, Dr. Basil G. Bibby, Dr. Worth B. Daniels, Dr. Champ Lyons, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Major General D. C. Ogle, Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr., and Lt. Colonel Rogers. Front row, seated: Dr. Leroy E. Burney, Mary Louise Marshall, Rear Admiral B. W. Hogan, L. Quincy Mumford. First meeting of NLM's Board of Regents. Held at the Army Medical Museum in Washington, D.C., one of the primary agenda items was determining a new permanent location of the Library. The pros and cons of about 10 locations were discussed, and as part of the following meeting one month later on April 29, most of the regents went on a bus tour of several of the locations before ultimately deciding (with DeBakey's encouragement) to house the Library on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland." data-image-copyright="fjbbdp_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDP_-380x218.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBDP_-760x436.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_.jpg" data-image-caption="October 18, 2006: Michael DeBakey at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Michael E. DeBakey Library and Museum." data-image-copyright="fjbbgz_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBGZ_-760x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5049504950495" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Michael DeBakey addresses Academy delegates at the American Academy of Achievement Salute to Excellence program. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="debakey-michael-at-podium" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium-252x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DeBakey-Michael-at-podium-505x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2837837837838" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBF_.jpg" data-image-caption="1940: Portrait of Michael DeBakey (with glasses)." data-image-copyright="1940: Portrait of Michael DeBakey (with glasses)." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBF_-296x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBF_-592x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.73947368421053" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCP_.jpg" data-image-caption="1935: Michael DeBakey with Rene Leriche and surgical colleagues at the Leriche Clinic in Strasbourg, France." data-image-copyright="fjbbcp_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCP_-380x281.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCP_-760x562.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2438625204583" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBS_.jpg" data-image-caption="1972: Michael DeBakey, in his office, with wall of awards and commendations behind him." data-image-copyright="fjbbbs_" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBS_-305x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBBS_-611x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78421052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCX_.jpg" data-image-caption="1970s: Michael DeBakey being filmed during surgery." data-image-copyright="1970s: Michael DeBakey being filmed during surgery." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCX_-380x298.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FJBBCX_-760x596.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.79736842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyheartimg104.jpg" data-image-caption="" data-image-copyright="wp-cooleyheartimg104" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyheartimg104-380x303.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyheartimg104-760x606.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2438625204583" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyartificialheartimg105.jpg" data-image-caption="Dr. Denton A. Cooley performed the first total artificial heart implant in the world, April 4, 1969, in Houston. The device, developed by Dr. Domingo Liotta, was implanted in a 47-year-old patient with severe heart failure. The patient lived for nearly three days with the artificial heart until a human heart was available for transplant. This experience demonstrated the viability of artificial hearts as a bridge to transplant in cardiac patients." data-image-copyright="wp-cooleyartificialheartimg105" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyartificialheartimg105-305x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-cooleyartificialheartimg105-611x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.78157894736842" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/alfred_blalock_and_helen_taussig.jpg" data-image-caption="In 1944, Dr. Alfred Blalock and Dr. Helen Taussig figured out a surgical method dealing with “blue baby syndrome.” At Johns Hopkins, Denton Cooley had been taken under the wing of Blalock. Blalock permitted him to assist in the first surgery to correct the congenital heart defect of a "blue baby," whose malfunctioning heart prevented him from getting adequate oxygen. That experience inspired Dr. Denton Cooley to make heart surgery his specialty." data-image-copyright="alfred_blalock_and_helen_taussig" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/alfred_blalock_and_helen_taussig-380x297.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/alfred_blalock_and_helen_taussig-760x594.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.72763157894737" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DAC1sthearttransplantpressconf1968hbo507.jpg" data-image-caption="May 1968: Dr. Cooley at a press conference with his colleagues at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital after Everett Thomas's transplant operation, which was the first successful heart transplant in the United States. Left to right: Grady Hallman, Denton A. Cooley, Robert Bloodwell, Arthur Keats and Robert Leachman. Cooley transplanted a heart into Everett Thomas, 47, whose heart valves were deteriorating. The donor was a 15-year-old girl who had committed suicide. Thomas survived for 204 days and the procedure made national headlines." data-image-copyright="dac1sthearttransplantpressconf1968hbo507" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DAC1sthearttransplantpressconf1968hbo507-380x276.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DAC1sthearttransplantpressconf1968hbo507-760x553.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.61578947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688.jpg" data-image-caption="US President George W. Bush (L), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (2nd R) and Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, present the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Michael DeBakey (2nd L), a pioneering heart surgeon, during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2008. DeBakey, now 99, received the country's highest civilian award for his work in developing complex cardiovascular procedures, which he has performed on over 60,000 patients, and for helping with the concepts for Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) for the US Military. AFP PHOTO/SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="US President George W. Bush (L), Speaker" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688-380x234.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/12/wp-GettyImages-80833688-760x468.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on December 7, 2016</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever sports illness-or-disability athletic ambitious " data-year-inducted="1976" data-achiever-name="Albright"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/tenley-albright-m-d/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/albright-new-profile-square-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/albright-new-profile-square-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Tenley Albright, M.D.</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1976</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever science-exploration racism-discrimination curious ambitious analytical work-in-medicine " data-year-inducted="1999" data-achiever-name="Black"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/keith-l-black/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bla1-001a-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bla1-001a-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Keith L. 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Berger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-timothy-berners-lee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Tim Berners-Lee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/yogi-berra/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Yogi Berra</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeffrey-p-bezos/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeffrey P. Bezos</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/benazir-bhutto/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benazir Bhutto</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Simone Biles</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/keith-l-black/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Keith L. Black, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-boies-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Boies</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-e-borlaug/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin C. Bradlee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sergey-brin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sergey Brin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carter-j-brown/"><span class="achiever-list-name">J. Carter Brown</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/linda-buck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linda B. Buck, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-burnett/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Burnett</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-h-w-bush/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George H. W. Bush</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/susan-butcher/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Susan Butcher</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-michael-caine/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Michael Caine</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-cameron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Cameron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-s-carson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Benjamin S. Carson, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-carter/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Carter</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-cash/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Cash</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William J. Clinton</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-s-collins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/denton-a-cooley/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Denton A. Cooley, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/francis-ford-coppola/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Francis Ford Coppola</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-dalio/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Dalio</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/olivia-de-havilland/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Olivia de Havilland</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-e-debakey-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael E. DeBakey, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/michael-dell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Michael S. Dell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-dennis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Dennis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/joan-didion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joan Didion</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-herbert-donald-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Herbert Donald, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-doubilet/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David Doubilet</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jennifer-a-doudna-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/rita-dove/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rita Dove</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sylvia-earle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/elbaradei/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mohamed ElBaradei</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/gertrude-elion/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gertrude B. Elion, M.Sc.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-j-ellison/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry J. Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/peter-gabriel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peter Gabriel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol W. Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/paul-b-maccready-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul B. MacCready, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/reinhold-messner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reinhold Messner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lynn-nottage/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lynn Nottage</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/cal-ripken-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Cal Ripken Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony D. Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/martine-rothblatt-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/clyde-tombaugh/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Clyde Tombaugh</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. Townes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/david-trimble/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord David Trimble</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert Edward (Ted) Turner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/desmond-tutu/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Archbishop Desmond Tutu</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/john-updike/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Updike</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/gore-vidal/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Gore Vidal</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/antonio-villaraigosa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Antonio Villaraigosa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/lech-walesa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lech Walesa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/herschel-walker/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Herschel Walker</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/alice-waters/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Alice Waters</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/james-d-watson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James D. Watson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/andrew-weil-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Andrew Weil, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/leslie-h-wexner/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leslie H. Wexner</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/elie-wiesel/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Elie Wiesel</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20210905051840/https://achievement.org/achiever/edward-o-wilson-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward O. 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