PHYSICIAN

Christiaan Barnard

1922 - 2001

Photo of Christiaan Barnard

Icon of person Christiaan Barnard

Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-old Louis Washkansky, who regained full consciousness and was able to talk easily with his wife, before dying 18 days later of pneumonia, largely brought on by the anti-rejection drugs that suppressed his immune system. Barnard had told Mr. and Mrs. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Christiaan Barnard is the 73rd most popular physician (down from 68th in 2019), the 12th most popular biography from South Africa (down from 11th in 2019) and the most popular South African Physician.

Christiaan Barnard is most famous for performing the first successful human-to-human heart transplant on December 3, 1967.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Christiaan Barnard by language

Loading...

Among PHYSICIANS

Among physicians, Christiaan Barnard ranks 73 out of 726. Before him are Franz Mesmer, Robert Bellarmine, André Frédéric Cournand, Otto Loewi, Hilary of Poitiers, and William P. Murphy. After him are Ambroise Paré, Johannes Fibiger, Selman Waksman, Albert Szent-Györgyi, Jens Christian Skou, and August Krogh.

Most Popular Physicians in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1922, Christiaan Barnard ranks 24. Before him are Gérard Philipe, Jack Kerouac, Erving Goffman, Hans Georg Dehmelt, Philip Larkin, and Charles M. Schulz. After him are Imre Lakatos, Alain Resnais, Doris Day, Agostinho Neto, Alain Robbe-Grillet, and Robert W. Holley. Among people deceased in 2001, Christiaan Barnard ranks 14. Before him are Don Bradman, Jack Lemmon, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Clifford Shull, Jorge Amado, and G. E. M. Anscombe. After him are Sabiha Gökçen, Bill Hewlett, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, Claude Shannon, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, and Iannis Xenakis.

Others Born in 1922

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2001

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In South Africa

Among people born in South Africa, Christiaan Barnard ranks 12 out of 454. Before him are Nadine Gordimer (1923), Sarah Baartman (1788), F. W. de Klerk (1936), Desmond Tutu (1931), Miriam Makeba (1932), and Shaka (1787). After him are Michael Levitt (1947), John Vorster (1915), D. F. Malan (1874), Max Theiler (1899), Cetshwayo kaMpande (1826), and Thabo Mbeki (1942).

Others born in South Africa

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHYSICIANS In South Africa

Among physicians born in South Africa, Christiaan Barnard ranks 1. After him are David Cooper (1931).

South African born Physicians

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous