Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ben Carson's life reads like two biographies stitched together, and that is exactly what fascinates me. The first chapter, a Detroit kid who rose to become a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Spingarn Medal, is one of the great American ascent stories. The second, his turn to politics as a presidential candidate and cabinet secretary, divides opinion sharply. But whatever you make of his politics, the discipline and nerve forged in the operating room are undeniable. Few public figures have ever made such a dramatic leap between worlds, and I find the sheer audacity of that leap genuinely compelling.
Overview
Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon, academic, author, and government official who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he was a candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. Carson is one of the most prominent black conservatives in the United States.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ben Carson
- Name (Japanese)
- ベン・カーソン
- Reading
- べん・かーそん
- Born
- September 18, 1951 (age 74)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Rabbit
- Origin
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- psychologist / neurosurgeon / politician / university teacher / surgeon
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Southwestern High School
- University
- University of Michigan
Awards & achievements
- 2006 Spingarn Medal
- 2008 Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Library of Congress Living Legend
- Horatio Alger Award
- 2004 honorary degree from Spelman College
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Psychologist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.