SIX THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BEN CARSON
Can someone who has never run for elected office become the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nominee? What you need to know about Ben Carson, who announced his presidential bid Monday in Detroit.
HIS EARLY LIFE: Ben Carson, 63, grew up poor in Detroit and was raised by a single mother. Carson experienced a life-changing incident when he was 14. Young Ben got angry when his friend changed the radio station and Ben tried to stab the other boy. The knife blade hit the friend’s belt buckle instead, and young Ben prayed to God to help him control his temper. Carson eventually won a scholarship to Yale University, where he met his wife, Candy, and graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School. They have three sons.
WORLD-RENOWNED SURGEON: Carson is an internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon. At the age of 33, he became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. In 1987, Carson directed a 22-member team that, for the first time, successfully separated twins conjoined at the head. Carson is known for his expertise in controlling brain seizures. He retired from his surgical duties in 2013.
MEDAL OF FREEDOM: George W. Bush in 2008 honored Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor. At the White House ceremony, Bush said the medal honored Carson’s “skills as a surgeon, high moral standards and dedication to helping others.”
DRAMATIC LIFE: Carson’s life was featured in a 2009 TV movie starring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story” was nominated for four Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award for Gooding’s performance.
CANCER SURVIVOR: In 2002, the doctor became a patient when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Carson found out he had cancer while he was performing surgery. “I just put it out of my mind and finished the operation,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Carson is now cancer-free.
HIS FAITH: Carson is a Seventh-Day Adventist and speaks frequently about his faith. In 2013, he was the keynote speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast and garnered headlines for criticizing President Obama as the president sat just a few feet away.
— Catalina Camia