Our surgical heritageA Surprising Alliance: Two Giants of the 20th Century

Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh were among the most famous international figures in the 20th century: Carrel, the surgeon-scientist who won a Nobel prize as a young surgeon, and Lindbergh, the aviator-engineer who pioneered aviation and promoted commercial flight throughout his life. Surprisingly, these two amazing individuals came together to collaborate on the early development of extracorporeal circulation. Their work was interrupted by the onset of World War II, which destroyed one of them and nearly destroyed the other.