Alfred Gunning was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Oxford, perhaps best known for his work on replacement heart valves. He was born on 21 November 1918 in Dullstroom, South Africa, the son of George Ronald Gunning, a police sergeant, and Kathleen Gunning née Dunne, a housewife. He attended the Christian

Ben Milstein was a consultant thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was one of the unsung heroes of cardiothoracic surgery. He was born in Dublin on 30 September 1918, the first son of orthodox Jewish immigrant parents, Hershel and Rebecca Milstein. The family later

Roger Abbey Smith was a consultant surgeon at Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry. He was born in Birkenhead. At the age of 11 he was deeply affected by the early death of his mother from psittacosis pneumonia caught from the family parrot, despite being attended by Henry Cohen, arguably the most celebrate

Alexander Falconer Grant was born on 1 February 1926 in Sydney, Australia. His father, Chesborough Grant, was a public servant and his mother, Henrietta, née Leary, a nursing sister. Both his brothers became surgeons and both were awarded the OBE. He attended North Sydney Boys' High School and Sydne

Arthur Siddons was a consultant thoracic surgeon at St George's Hospital in London. He was born on 17 January 1911 in Harrow, Middlesex, and was sent to Harrow School. He went on to Jesus College, Cambridge, and then to St George's Hospital, where he qualified in 1935. In 1941, he was appointed as a

Mark Xavier Shanahan was one of the distinguished surgeons who pioneered the field of Cardiothoracic Surgery at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney from the mid 1950's. He was selected to join Harry Windsor on the Hospital staff in 1963, and together with Harry, perceived the talents of Victor Chang as a R

Kalyanakit Kitiyakara was born in Bangkok on 20 September 1929, the son of His Serene Highness Prince Nakhatra of Chandaburi who was later to become Thai Ambassador to the Court of St James. His great grandfather was King Rama V, Chulalongkorn, his younger sister is Queen Sirikit and his brother-in-

Domenico (Dom) Pagano was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and a professor of medicine at the University of Birmingham. He was born in Pompei, Italy, where he received a classical education including philosophy, of which he was rightly proud. After scho

Rowan Nicks was a cardiothoracic surgeon in Sydney, who in later life became one of the most well-known and admired surgeons in Australia, noted especially for his work in promoting the training of surgeons in developing countries. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 24 February 1913 to George

Arthur Terence Sahanandan ('A T S') Paul was a pioneering cardiothoracic surgeon in Sri Lanka. He was born on 5 September 1915 in Colombo, in what was then Ceylon, into a distinguished Tamil family. His father, Samuel Chelliah Paul, was a senior surgeon at the General Hospital, Colombo, and the firs

Paul Allen Ebert was an American thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. He is best known for his contributions to the repair of complex cardiac anomalies in infants and for his directorship of the American College of Surgeons. He is also remembered as a researcher, educator and athlete. Paul Ebert

Nanalal Jivan Shah, usually addressed as John Shah, was born in the Seychelles on 25 April 1921, and after going to school there, subsequently came over to Guy's Hospital to study medicine and graduated MB, BS in 1945. He won the Hallett Prize at the Primary Fellowship, and completed the FRCS in 194