Chapters 12-14 Summary and Analysis

Daniel Hale Williams was a pioneer in heart surgery. Williams was born in 1856 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, the son of a barber. When Williams was 10 his father died from consumption. The family moved around a bit, and Williams ended up in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he worked as a barber. Williams went to Haire's Classical Academy and upon graduation worked in a lawyer's office for a year, most likely influenced by his brother, an attorney.

People in the town were amazed by the accomplishments of Dr. Henry Palmer. Palmer was a surgeon who had been the head of the biggest military hospital during the Civil War and also served as the Surgeon General of Wisconsin for a decade. Williams decided that medicine would become his life's work. At 22, Williams became an apprentice to Dr. Palmer. Although many physicians did not receive...