CNN
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Here is a look at the life of former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and a former presidential candidate.
Birth date: September 18, 1951
Birth place: Detroit, Michigan
Birth name: Benjamin Solomon Carson
Father: Robert Carson, auto factory worker
Mother: Sonya (Copeland) Carson, domestic worker
Marriage: Lacena “Candy” (Rustin) Carson (July 1975-present)
Children: Murray, Benjamin Jr and Rhoeyce
Education: Yale University, B.A. in Psychology, 1973; University of Michigan School of Medicine, M.D., 1977
Religion: Seventh Day Adventist
When Carson became the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins at age 33, he was the youngest to head a major division in the hospital’s history.
His parents separated when he was 8, after it was revealed his father was a bigamist. He and his brother were raised by their mother.
Carson admits that he had a violent temper in his youth, and says one of the defining moments of his life occurred when he was 14. Carson attempted to stab a schoolmate, but luckily the boy’s belt buckle blocked the knife. After praying for three hours, Carson “came to an understanding that to lash out at people is not a sign of strength, it was a sign of weakness.”
Known for offering provocative commentary on a wide range of issues, including comparing the modern American government to Nazi Germany in a March 2014 interview with Breitbart, and at the 2013 Values Voters Summit, saying that Obamacare is “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.”
1977-1978 – Intern in general surgery at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
1978-1982 – Completes his neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins.
1982-1983 – Chief neurosurgery resident at Johns Hopkins.
1983-1984 – Senior registrar in neurosurgery at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia.
1984-2013 – Director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
1987 – Primary neurosurgeon on team that performs the first successful surgery to separate conjoined twins connected at the back of the head (occipital craniopagus twins).
1990 – Carson’s best-selling autobiography, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,” is published.
1994 – Founds the Carson Scholars Fund with his wife, which facilitates leisure reading for children and funds college scholarships for students with strong academics and humanitarian achievement.
1997 – Primary neurosurgeon on the team that performs the first fully successful surgery to separate Type 2 vertical craniopagus twins (joined at the top of the head and facing opposite directions), where both twins survive and are neurologically normal.
2002 – Co-founds the Benevolent Endowment Network (BEN) Fund, which provides financial support for the medical expenses of pediatric neurosurgery patients.
August 2002 – Undergoes surgery for prostate cancer. He is later declared cancer-free.
2004 – Named by President George W. Bush to the President’s Council on Bioethics.
June 19, 2008 – Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bush.
February 7, 2009 – Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Carson in the made-for-television movie, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.”
February 7, 2013 – Gains national attention after he criticizes Democratic policies on taxes and healthcare during his keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast.
July 1, 2013 – Retires from Johns Hopkins as director of pediatric neurosurgery, professor and co-director of the Craniofacial Center.
October 2013-November 2014 – Contributor for Fox News.
November 2014 – Officially switches his party affiliation from registered Independent to Republican, a move he later acknowledges was spurred on by a possible presidential run.
March 4, 2015 – On CNN’s “New Day,” Carson asserts that homosexuality is a choice because people “go into prison straight – and when they come out, they’re gay.” He later apologizes for his comments, but says that the science is still murky on the issue.
May 4, 2015 – Formally announces his candidacy for US president in his hometown of Detroit.
March 2, 2016 – After a disappointing finish on Super Tuesday, Carson announces he doesn’t “see a political path forward” in the Republican presidential nomination process, and will not attend the upcoming GOP presidential debate in Detroit.
March 4, 2016 – In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference gathering in National Harbor, Maryland, Carson officially ends his presidential campaign and reveals his next move: becoming the national chairman of My Faith Votes, a group focused on getting out the Christian vote in November.
March 11, 2016 – Carson announces his endorsement of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
November 15, 2016 – A close Carson adviser tells CNN that Carson has declined an offer from President-elect Trump to join his cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services.
December 5, 2016 – The Trump transition team announces Carson will be nominated as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
March 2, 2017 – Carson is confirmed as HUD secretary with a 58-41 vote in the Senate.
February 2018 – CNN obtains a November 2017 complaint from HUD’s former chief administration officer, who said she was told to “find money” beyond the legal $5,000 limit for redecorating Carson’s office. Soon after, it is revealed that HUD spent $31,000 to replace a dining room set for the office. Carson says in a statement to CNN that he was “surprised” about the order and had it canceled.
May 16, 2019 – In a letter to Congress, the Government Accountability Office’s general counsel says HUD broke the law when it spent about $40,000 in 2017 for a new dining set and dishwasher for Carson’s office.
September 12, 2019 – HUD’s internal watchdog clears Carson of wrongdoing for his plan to purchase a $31,000 dining set without notifying Congress.
November 9, 2020 – HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Coalter Baker releases a statement that Carson has tested positive for the coronavirus. “He is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”