Ben Carson was born to a single mom in Detroit. Carson himself said that he had "bad grades and a horrible temper," but with the world of reading his mother introduced to him, his grades improved so much that he "excelled in high school."
According to his official biography, Carson:
- Attended Yale University where he met his wife Candy.
- Worked as an X-ray technician, bank teller, school bus driver, steel factory crane operator and a supervisor for highway cleanup crews.
- Accepted to The University of Michigan School of Medicine.
- Performed residence at Johns Hopkins Univeristy Medical Center.
- 1987- Performed the first successful separation of conjoined twins, attached at the back of the head (craniopagus).
- 1994 - Founded the Carson Scholars Fund, which, in addition to granting scholarships, also sets up Carson Reading rooms.
- 1998 - Performed successful separation of type-2 vertical craiophagus twins in South Africa.
- 2001 - Named by CNN and Time as one of the country's 20 foremost physicians and scientists. Carson was also named as one of 89 "Living Legends" by the Library of Congress.
- 2004 - Named by President George W. Bush to serve on President's Council on Bioethics.
- 2006 - Awarded the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor from the NAACP.
- 2008 - Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bush.
- Carson has published eight books including his autobiography, which was made into a movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Dr. Carson.
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