Friday, September 18 is Dr. Ben Carson's birthday. He is 75 years young, and continues to represent the best of our nation through his amazing life of medicine, politics, and historical and cultural advocacy.
Today, we’re celebrating the man whose vision, leadership, and unwavering love for America brought the American Cornerstone Institute to life! He’s helped millions through his work in the operating room, as a cabinet secretary, and now at ACI. His wisdom, passion, humor, and… pic.twitter.com/LNDSvqQL7k
— American Cornerstone Institute (@ACI1776) September 18, 2026
Today, we’re celebrating the man whose vision, leadership, and unwavering love for America brought the American Cornerstone Institute to life! He’s helped millions through his work in the operating room, as a cabinet secretary, and now at ACI. His wisdom, passion, humor, and kindness continue to inspire us every day.
Help us wish our Founder and Chairman, the one and only @realBenCarson, a happy 75th birthday!
It was over 40 years ago that Dr. Ben Carson leaped onto the world stage, after performing the first-of-its-kind successful craniopagus surgery.
On Sept. 6, 1987, Dr. Ben Carson completed a 22-hour pioneering operation that separated 7-month-old West German Siamese twins, who were joined at the back of the head.
Carson led a 70-person team as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and used a first-of-its-kind strategy that involved dropping the twins’ temperatures down to 68 degrees to stop their hearts and bloodflow.
The twins, named Patrick and Benjamin Binder, were considered critical but stable after the surgery, and given a 50-50 chance of survival, according to a United Press International article from 1987.
“We will prefer to say that the operation was a success if the twins can return home healthy,” Dr. Mark Rogers, then-director of pediatric intensive care at Johns Hopkins Hospital, had said.
The boys returned home to Germany several months later, but suffered from neurological issues. While Patrick died later years, Benjamin never learned to speak.
“In a technological ‘Star Wars’ sort of way, the operation was a fantastic success,” Carson told the Associated Press in 1989. “But as far as having normal children, I don’t think it was all that successful.”
Carson went on to participate in four similar surgeries, including one involving a set of conjoined Zambian twins who left the hospital with no neurological issues.
He later detailed the Binder’s surgery in two chapters of his book, “Gifted Hands.”
The groundbreaking work Carson did in the development of craniopagus surgeries has been built upon and transformed over the decades. In 2019, Abby and Erin, the Delaney twins, underwent their successful craniopagus surgery. Seven years later, the girls are showing great progress.
WATCH:
In 2023, a surgical team of neurosurgeons from the United Kingdom and Brazil, met in in Abu Dhabi and coupled their collective hands with artificial intelligence to successfully separate conjoined twin girls, Goodness and Mercy. The girls have had additional surgeries over the past three years, but according to reports, they are also doing well and experiencing progress.
And in 2025, conjoined twins Hiyab and Wuhbto from Nigeria traveled to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, MO. After a year of preparation and planning down to the most granular detail, in February 2026, pediatric neurosurgeons performed the 24-hour surgery which separated the twins. Six months later, one of the twins has undergone skull reconstruction, with her sister scheduled to undergo her own later in the fall.
Separating craniopagus twins is among the rarest procedures in pediatric medicine. Worldwide, only 62 separation attempts have ever been documented.
Carson made medical history, but he has also played a pivotal role in the history of our nation: first as a presidential candidate, then as President Donald Trump 45's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and now a special advisor to the Trump 47 administration. And as mentioned above, he is also the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute.
His exemplary life continues to inspire, and he continues to be an innovator and a champion for the American Dream, individual liberties, and the principles which shaped our nation.
Carson gave this speech at the Rededicate 250 celebration of our nation's founding, and it embodies why we fight for the American exceptionalism which forged the path for a Dr. Ben Carson to be birthed, thrive, change the nation, and the world.
Happy Birthday, Dr. Ben Carson!
Dr. Ben Carson delivers remarks at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
"My wife and I have been to 68 countries, and I can tell you there is no place like America, and we need to make sure it stays that way.
"But remember our improbable rebellion against the most powerful military force on Earth, or the forging of our Constitution. Look at our prosperity, our technological innovation; our culture of freedom; our triumphs over slavery, totalitarianism, segregation, hunger, and disease; even over the surly bonds of Earth. We're the only nation defined by a dream."
WATCH:
Dr. Ben Carson delivers remarks at Rededicate 250 on the National Mall:
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) May 17, 2026
"My wife and I have been to 68 countries, and I can tell you there is no place like America, and we need to make sure it stays that way.
But remember our improbable rebellion against the most powerful… pic.twitter.com/0rmlddBR7g
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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