February is Black History Month and this year marks the 400th anniversary that blacks were brought to Bermuda as indentured servants. Throughout this month, The Royal Gazette will feature people, events, places and institutions that have contributed to the shaping of African historyDescribed as the “most untalked about, unappreciated, unknown giant in the African-American community,” by heart surgeon Levi Watkins Jr, Vivien Thomas received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1976, and while this was undoubtedly memorable, the decades that preceded this moment were equally unforgettable.In Nashville, Tennessee, this high school honours graduate dreamt of becoming a physician. Thomas, a skilled carpenter, saved for seven years to pay for his education. However, he lost his savings during the Great Depression. Beginning in 1930, he worked at Vanderbilt University’s Medical School as a laboratory assistant to Alfred Blalock, a white physician who became a pioneer in cardiac surgery. Blalock mentored Thomas and taught him to conduct experiments.In 1941, Blalock transferred to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and asked Thomas to transfer as well. While at Hopkins, they developed a procedure to save “blue babies” afflicted with congenital heart defects.According to Partners of the Heart, Thomas often “stood on a step stool” behind Blalock, guiding the surgeon through surgery. Although earning low wages, Thomas performed surgeries, designed instruments needed to perform surgery on “blue babies”, did innovative work on the defibrillator and taught surgical techniques to surgeons. He also moonlighted as a bartender to support his family.In 1960, Blalock celebrated his 60th birthday and, while 500 people attended, Thomas, with whom he had worked for more than 30 years, was not invited. After 37 years, Thomas was appointed to the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Leaving an indelible mark, he became instructor emeritus of surgery. Vivien Thomas, who never earned a medical degree, died in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 75.• Sources: Vivien Thomas, Pioneering Research in Surgical Shock and Cardiovascular Surgery: Vivien Thomas and His Work with Alfred Blalock (Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985); http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/today/t_views.html