Ben Carson - Neurosurgeon
Benjamin Solomon “Ben” Carson, Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is a retired American neurosurgeon and former candidate for President of the United States. Born in Detroit, Michigan, and a graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School, Carson has authored numerous books on his medical career and political stances, and was the subject of a television drama film in 2009.
He was the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland from 1984 until his retirement in 2013. Among his achievements as a surgeon were separating conjoined twins and developing a hemispherectomy technique for controlling seizures. Both achievements were recognized in 2008 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Carson’s widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast catapulted him to conservative fame for his views on social and political issues.[3] On May 4, 2015, Carson announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election at a rally in his hometown of Detroit.[4]
On March 2, 2016, following the Super Tuesday primaries, Carson announced that he did “not see a political path forward” and would not attend the next Republican debate in Detroit.[5] He said, “this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue,” indicating that he would give more details later in the week.[5] He suspended his campaign on March 4 and announced he would be the new national chairman of My Faith Votes, a group that encourages Christians to exercise their civic duty to vote.[5][6] On March 11, 2016, Carson endorsed the candidacy of Donald Trump and at the press conference stated that Trump had a “cerebral” side.