"Vivien Theodore Thomas"[August 29,1910-November 26,1985]

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He was an African-American supervisor of Surgical Research

laboratories.Vivien was born in Lake Providence Louisiana,and graduated from Pearl High School in Nashville High School in Nashville,Tennessee in 1929.He was planning to use his carpentry skills,learned from his daddy William Maceo Thomas to work his way through Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School.Vivien planned to prepare at Tennessee A&I Normal to enter medical school and become a physician.The Great Stock Market Crash of 1929 ended his plans.In
1930,he accepted a full-time position as a laboratory assistant at Vanderbilt University Medical School.At Vanderbilt, Vivien worked with the surgeon Alfred Blalock gathering evidence that "linked shock to decreases in blood volume and to fluid loss outside the vascular system."This research led to applications in blood and plasma treatment for traumas during World War II.Vivien was responsible
for developing experimental procedures,refining experiments,and testing new protocols in the laboratory.In 1941,Alfred the chairmanship of the surgery department of the Johns Hopkins University and Vivien went with him.At Johns Hopkins the work on the "blue baby"syndrome was significant achievement,and Vivien was present to offer technical advice during the procedure.The new procedure was able to save newborn babies from chronic circulatory failure.Vivien served as research associate,supervisor of the surgical laboratories,and as instructor in surgery at the school.In 1976,Vivien was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the Johns Hopkins University.He was instrumental in pioneering the anastomosis of the subclavin
artery to the pulmonary artery.The  surgical work he peformed with Alfred Blalock paved the way for the successful outcome of the Blalock-Taussing shunt.