In 1944, Thomas developed a surgical treatment for babies with cyanotic heart conditions. Thomas was a Black man working at an institution whose only other black employees did janitorial work, and he had not attended medical school – or even college. 

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In 1944, Thomas developed a surgical treatment for babies with cyanotic heart conditions. Thomas was a Black man working at an institution whose only other black employees did janitorial work, and he had not attended medical school – or even college.  Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Vivien Thomas, Surgical Pathfinder 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0fb9a168-0ce3-493b-baa1-ae28001d95ba/transcript

Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban doctor who did a lot of work to understand the spread of Yellow Fever. But Walter Reed got most of the credit.

Research:
American Experience. “Carlos Finlay (1833-1915).” From The Great Fever. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fever-carlos-finlay/
Berenbrok, Dorothy E., "Latin Heritage Month. Carlos Juan Finlay: Outrageous, Courageous and Correct" (2015). Posters: Jefferson History. 3. https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jeffhistoryposters/3
"Carlos Juan Finlay." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631002194/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=bfeecc25. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
Chaves-Carballo, Enrique. “Carlos J. Finlay: The mosquito man.” Hektoen International. 11/2/2020. https://hekint.org/2020/11/02/carlos-j-finlay-the-mosquito-man/
Corbitt, Duvon C. “Carlos J. Finlay, Cuban Physician.” The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Aug., 1965). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2511751
Del Regato, Juan A. “Carlos Juan Finlay (1833-1915).” Journal of Public Health Policy , 2001, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2001). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3343556
Faerstein, Eduardoa; Winkelstein, Warren Jrb. Carlos Juan Finlay: Rejected, Respected, and Right. Epidemiology 21(1):p 158, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181c308e0
Ferreira Moreno, Víctor Guillermo. “Evocation to the Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Barres on the centennial of his death.” Colombia medica (Cali, Colombia) vol. 47,1 63-6. 30 Mar. 2016
Finlay, Carlos J. “The Mosquito Hypothetically Considered as the Agent of Transmission of Yellow Fever.” Read before the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences Session of August 14th, 1881. https://archive.org/details/b33448541/page/590/mode/1up
Finlay, Carlos Juan. “Trabajos selectos del Dr. Carlos J. Finlay. Selected papers of Dr. Carlos J. Finlay.” Habana. 1912. https://archive.org/details/trabajosselectos00finl
Finlay, Charles. “Inoculations for Yellow Fever by Means of Contaminated Mosquitoes.” Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 102: 264-268, 1891. https://archive.org/details/b33445242/page/n4/mode/1up
Finlay, Charles. “Yellow Fever: Its ‘Transmission by Means of the Culex Mosquito.” Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 92: 395-409, 1886. https://archive.org/details/b33435698/page/613/mode/1up
Palmer, Steven. “A Cuban Scientist Between Empires: Peripheral Vision on Race and Tropical Medicine.” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne desétudes latino-américaines et caraïbes, Vol. 35, No. 69, Special Issue: Landscapes of LatinAmerican Health, 1870-1970. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41800498
Spears, Ellen Griffith and Rosa López-Oceguera. “Carlos Juan Finlay, William Gorgas, and Walter Reed and the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Controversy: Competing Historical Memories.” Alabama Review The University of Alabama Press. Volume 74, Number 1, January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1353/ala.2021.0011
Stepan, Nancy. “The Interplay between Socio-Economic Factors and Medical Science: Yellow Fever Research, Cuba and the United States.” Social Studies of Science , Nov., 1978, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov., 1978). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/284817
Thomas Jefferson University. “10 Notable Jefferson Alumni of the Past.” https://library.jefferson.edu/archives/exhibits/notable_alumni/juan_carlos_finlay.cfm
Tone, John Lawrence. (2002) “How the mosquito (man) liberated Cuba.” History and Technology, 18:4, 277-308, DOI: 10.1080/07341512.2002.11417735
“Carlos J. Finlay.” 5/16/2023. https://www.unesco.org/en/prizes/carlos-j-finlay/about
Woodall, Jack. "Yellow Fever." Infectious Diseases: In Context, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, vol. 2, Gale, 2008, pp. 925-931. In Context Series. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3045200265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=bf646a26. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.

Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban doctor who did a lot of work to understand the spread of Yellow Fever. But Walter Reed got most of the credit.
Research:
<ul>
<li>American Experience. &ldquo;Carlos Finlay (1833-1915).&rdquo; From The Great Fever. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/fever-carlos-finlay/</li>
<li>Berenbrok, Dorothy E., "Latin Heritage Month. Carlos Juan Finlay: Outrageous, Courageous and Correct" (2015). Posters: Jefferson History. 3. https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jeffhistoryposters/3</li>
<li>"Carlos Juan Finlay." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631002194/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=bfeecc25. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.</li>
<li>Chaves-Carballo, Enrique. &ldquo;Carlos J. Finlay: The mosquito man.&rdquo; Hektoen International. 11/2/2020. https://hekint.org/2020/11/02/carlos-j-finlay-the-mosquito-man/</li>
<li>Corbitt, Duvon C. &ldquo;Carlos J. Finlay, Cuban Physician.&rdquo; The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 45, No. 3 (Aug., 1965). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2511751</li>
<li>Del Regato, Juan A. &ldquo;Carlos Juan Finlay (1833-1915).&rdquo; Journal of Public Health Policy , 2001, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2001). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3343556</li>
<li>Faerstein, Eduardoa; Winkelstein, Warren Jrb. Carlos Juan Finlay: Rejected, Respected, and Right. Epidemiology 21(1):p 158, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181c308e0</li>
<li>Ferreira Moreno, V&iacute;ctor Guillermo. &ldquo;Evocation to the Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Barres on the centennial of his death.&rdquo; Colombia medica (Cali, Colombia) vol. 47,1 63-6. 30 Mar. 2016</li>
<li>Finlay, Carlos J. &ldquo;The Mosquito Hypothetically Considered as the Agent of Transmission of Yellow Fever.&rdquo; Read before the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences Session of August 14th, 1881. https://archive.org/details/b33448541/page/590/mode/1up</li>
<li>Finlay, Carlos Juan. &ldquo;Trabajos selectos del Dr. Carlos J. Finlay. Selected papers of Dr. Carlos J. Finlay.&rdquo; Habana. 1912. https://archive.org/details/trabajosselectos00finl</li>
<li>Finlay, Charles. &ldquo;Inoculations for Yellow Fever by Means of Contaminated Mosquitoes.&rdquo; Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 102: 264-268, 1891. https://archive.org/details/b33445242/page/n4/mode/1up</li>
<li>Finlay, Charles. &ldquo;Yellow Fever: Its &lsquo;Transmission by Means of the Culex Mosquito.&rdquo; Published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, n.s. 92: 395-409, 1886. https://archive.org/details/b33435698/page/613/mode/1up</li>
<li>Palmer, Steven. &ldquo;A Cuban Scientist Between Empires: Peripheral Vision on Race and Tropical Medicine.&rdquo; Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des&eacute;tudes latino-am&eacute;ricaines et cara&iuml;bes, Vol. 35, No. 69, Special Issue: Landscapes of LatinAmerican Health, 1870-1970. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41800498</li>
<li>Spears, Ellen Griffith and Rosa L&oacute;pez-Oceguera. &ldquo;Carlos Juan Finlay, William Gorgas, and Walter Reed and the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Controversy: Competing Historical Memories.&rdquo; Alabama Review The University of Alabama Press. Volume 74, Number 1, January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1353/ala.2021.0011</li>
<li>Stepan, Nancy. &ldquo;The Interplay between Socio-Economic Factors and Medical Science: Yellow Fever Research, Cuba and the United States.&rdquo; Social Studies of Science , Nov., 1978, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Nov., 1978). Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/284817</li>
<li>Thomas Jefferson University. &ldquo;10 Notable Jefferson Alumni of the Past.&rdquo; https://library.jefferson.edu/archives/exhibits/notable_alumni/juan_carlos_finlay.cfm</li>
<li>Tone, John Lawrence. (2002) &ldquo;How the mosquito (man) liberated Cuba.&rdquo; History and Technology, 18:4, 277-308, DOI: 10.1080/07341512.2002.11417735</li>
<li>&ldquo;Carlos J. Finlay.&rdquo; 5/16/2023. https://www.unesco.org/en/prizes/carlos-j-finlay/about</li>
<li>Woodall, Jack. "Yellow Fever." Infectious Diseases: In Context, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, vol. 2, Gale, 2008, pp. 925-931. In Context Series. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3045200265/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=bf646a26. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.</li>
</ul>

Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban doctor who did a lot of work to understand the spread of Yellow Fever. But Walter Reed got most of the credit.

Carlos Juan Finlay and Yellow Fever

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9f47d542-1cb3-4018-b9d0-b45500710bcb/transcript

This 2022 episode covers Deborah Sampson, who could count William Bradford and Myles Standish in her family tree. That tree didn’t include Robert Shurtliff; that was the alias Deborah used to enlist in the Continental Army.

This 2022 episode covers Deborah Sampson, who could count William Bradford and Myles Standish in her family tree. That tree didn&rsquo;t include Robert Shurtliff; that was the alias Deborah used to enlist in the Continental Army.

SYMHC Classics: Deborah Sampson

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ece16cb5-7a52-48de-80ad-b45200383fa9/transcript

Holly shares a quote from Daniela Lippi about the importance of ongoing learning in the restoration profession. There is then discussion of the nerve-racking construction of Disneyland.

Holly shares a quote from Daniela Lippi about the importance of ongoing learning in the restoration profession. There is then discussion of the nerve-racking construction of Disneyland.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Art and Theme Parks

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/892e9d9a-7e81-41fb-888a-b4520037f49d/transcript

Vivien Thomas, Surgical Pathfinder

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