Black history spotlight for Oct. 22, 2012: Clarence S. Green

Born on Dec. 26, 1901 in Washington, D.C., Dr. Clarence Greene received his M.D. from the Howard University College of Medicine with distinction in 1936. After seven years of general surgery residency and four years as a professor of surgery at Howard University, he was granted the opportunity by the legendary Wilder G. Penfield to train in neurosurgery at the world-renowned Montreal Neurological Institute from 1947 to 1949.

Receiving high praise from Dr. Penfield, Dr. Greene became the first African-American certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery on Oct. 22, 1953. Subsequently, he was appointed as chair of neurosurgery at Howard University, where he successfully treated intracranial aneurysms, brain tumors, and herniated intervertebral discs until his tragic death from a heart attack in 1957.