Ben Carson overcame a difficult past to become head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Carson came from a poor and broken home in Michigan, but still managed to work his way into Yale University in 1969. He graduated with a degree in psychology in 1973, then graduated from medical school at the University of Michigan in 1977. He studied neurosurgery and at the young age of 33 became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He is now known for his pioneering work in radical hemispherectomies -- the removal of half the brain to help seizure patients -- and as a specialist in the separation of cojoined (Siamese) twins. Carson also is a popular speaker who tells his own story to encourage young people to make the most of their abilities. He wrote the memoir Gifted Hands (1990) and the inspirational books Think Big (1992) and The Big Picture (1999). With his wife he founded the Carson Scholars Fund, which gives scholarships to young students. He was named to the President's Council on Bioethics in 2004 by George W. Bush; Bush awarded Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008.

Extra credit: Carson met his wife, the former Candy Rustin, at Yale. They were married in 1975 and have three sons: Murray, B.J., and Rhoeyce... Carson is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church... He was played by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the 2009 TV movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.