David Bernard Todd Jr. (March 22, 1931 – October 21, 1980) was an American surgeon. He was a professor of surgery at

Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College is a private historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first m ...

, and the first African-American cardiovascular surgeon in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He is the namesake of Dr DB Todd Jr. Boulevard in North Nashville.

Early life

Todd was born in 1931 in

Jefferson County, Alabama Jefferson County is the List of counties in Alabama, most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, located in the central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 674,721. Its county seat i ...

. He graduated from

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree, followed by an MD from

in 1956. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he earned a PhD in 1966.

Career

Todd began his career as an assistant professor of surgery at Meharry Medical College in 1966. He was also the director of the thoracic and cardiovascular divisions at Meharry. He became associate professor of surgery in 1969, and full professor in 1979. Todd was a physician at Hubbard Hospital on the Meharry campus, now known as Nashville General Hospital. According to ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...

'', he was the "first black cardiovascular surgeon in Nashville," and he "headed the team that performed the first open heart surgery at Meharry in 1972." Todd was a fellow of the

American College of Chest Physicians The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is a medical association in the United States consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, critical care medicine Intensiv ...

, the

American Geriatrics Society The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a non-profit professional society founded on June 11, 1942, for health care professionals practicing geriatric medicine. Among the founding physicians were Dr. Ignatz Leo Nascher, who coined the term "geri ...

, and the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

. He served as the chair of the surgical division of the

National Medical Association The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest organization representing African Americans, African American physicians and their patients in the United States. As a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) national professional and sc ...

Personal life, death and legacy

With his wife, née Loraine LeShore, Todd had a son and three daughters. They resided in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, a neighborhood of Nashville. Todd died on October 21, 1980, at the Riverside Hospital in Nashville, at age 48. His funeral was held at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, and he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. Dr DB Todd Jr. Boulevard, between Charlotte Avenue and Clarksville Pike, was named in his honor in 1982.

References

External links

D.B. Todd Jr. Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, David B. Jr. 1931 births 1980 deaths People from Jefferson County, Alabama Physicians from Nashville, Tennessee Morehouse College alumni Meharry Medical College alumni University of Minnesota alumni American cardiac surgeons American thoracic surgeons 20th-century African-American physicians 20th-century American surgeons 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics