Vivien Thomas Nominated for Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the University of Maryland

In May 1976, Vivien Thomas received an honorary LL.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University. The meandering path that led to this award started several years earlier, in 1974, at another university. It began when the son of a University of Maryland professor, Dr. Alex Dragt, underwent heart surgery at Hopkins Hospital. Though his son’s heart problem was not due to TOF, the professor had heard a great deal about Mr. Vivien Thomas and his work. Shown here is the letter he sent nominating Thomas for an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland for his heart research. Thomas’s candidacy remained active for several years and staff at the University of Maryland occasionally called Hopkins to confirm Thomas’s status and receive more information about his work. In 1976, George Callcott, the vice-chancellor of the University of Maryland, paid Thomas a visit in his lab to tell him that he would receive an honorary Doctor of Science ( D.Sc. ) degree, and sent him a letter confirming this.

A short time later, Callcott was embarrassed to have to send a second letter that regretfully informed Thomas that the board of trustees did not endorse his nomination. Thomas would never learn about the shameful reason that caused Maryland to object to his award.