On this day in 1891, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, one of the first African American surgeons in the United States, founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. It was the first interracial hospital in the U.S. and also established the first nursing school for African Americans. Dr. Williams later became renowned for performing one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in 1893.

On May 4, 1891, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded Provident Hospital and Training School in Chicago, Illinois—the first interracial hospital in the United States. At a time when African Americans were often denied treatment at white hospitals, Dr. Williams created a facility where Black patients could receive quality care and where Black medical professionals could train and work. Provident not only offered lifesaving services, but it also became a pioneering institution for nursing and surgical education. Just two years later, Dr. Williams would perform one of the first successful open-heart surgeries at this very hospital, cementing both his and the institution’s place in medical history.