| David B. Todd Jr. | |
| Birth Name: | David Bernard Todd Jr. |
| Birth Date: | March 22, 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Jefferson County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Death Date: | October 21, 1980 |
| Death Place: | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Greenwood Cemetery |
| Education: | Morehouse College Meharry Medical College University of Minnesota |
| Employer: | Meharry Medical College |
| Occupation: | Surgeon |
| Spouse: | Loraine LeShore |
| Children: | 1 son, 3 daughters |
David Bernard Todd Jr. (March 22, 1931 – October 21, 1980)[1] was an American surgeon. He was a professor of surgery at Meharry Medical College, and the first African-American cardiovascular surgeon in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the namesake of Dr DB Todd Jr. Boulevard in North Nashville.
Todd was born in 1931 in Jefferson County, Alabama.[2] [3] He graduated from Morehouse College, where he earned a bachelor's degree, followed by an MD from Meharry Medical College in 1956.[3] He attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a PhD in 1966.[4]
Todd began his career as an assistant professor of surgery at Meharry Medical College in 1966.[3] He was also the director of the thoracic and cardiovascular divisions at Meharry.[5] He became associate professor of surgery in 1969, and full professor in 1979.[3]
Todd was a physician at Hubbard Hospital on the Meharry campus, now known as Nashville General Hospital.[6] According to The Tennessean, he was the "first black cardiovascular surgeon in Nashville," and he "headed the team that performed the first open heart surgery at Meharry in 1972."[2] [4]
Todd was a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, and the American College of Surgeons.[4] He served as the chair of the surgical division of the National Medical Association.[3]
With his wife, née Loraine LeShore, Todd had a son and three daughters.[4] They resided in Bordeaux, a neighborhood of Nashville.[7]
Todd died on October 21, 1980, at the Riverside Hospital in Nashville, at age 48.[2] [4] His funeral was held at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, and he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.[4] Dr DB Todd Jr. Boulevard, between Charlotte Avenue and Clarksville Pike, was named in his honor in 1982.[3]