Emil A. Naclerio (March 21, 1915 – October 14, 1985)[1][2] was an American doctor and surgeon who is most notable for operating on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to save his life after a 1958 assassination attempt.[3]

Attempted assassination of MLK

Izola Curry stabbed the reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in the chest with a letter opener on September 20, 1958, at book-signing in a Harlem department store. NYPD police officers Al Howard and Phil Romano took King in the chair down to an ambulance that took King to Harlem Hospital, and its top team of trauma surgeons, Dr. John W. V. Cordice, Jr., Dr. Emil Naclerio, Farrow Allen, and Aubré de Lambert Maynard were called in to operate. [4][5][6][7] Emil Naclerio had been attending a wedding and arrived still in a tuxedo. They made incisions and inserted a rib spreader, making King’s aorta visible. Chief of Surgery Maynard then entered and attempted to pull out the letter opener, but cut his glove on the blade; a surgical clamp was finally used to pull out the blade.[4] Cordice mapped out a strategy and successfully saved Dr. King.[8] He was the subject of the book When Harlem Nearly Killed King: The 1958 Stabbing of Dr. Martin Luther King, by Hugh Pearson.[9]

Personal life

His son, Ron Naclerio is an author and all time winningest coach for the PSAL league.[10]

References

  1. ^ Zeev V. Maizlin & Peter L. Cooperberg (2009). "People behind Exclusive Eponyms of Radiologic Signs (Part I)". Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal. 60 (4): 201–220. doi:10.1016/j.carj.2009.06.009. PMID 19647394. S2CID 26838176. Emil A. Naclerio was born on March 21, 1915. He died on October 14, 1985, in Brooklyn
  2. ^ Martin, Douglas (January 4, 2014). "Dr. W.V. Cordice Jr., 94, a Surgeon Who Helped Save Dr. King, Dies" – via NYTimes.com. Dr. Naclerio died in 1985,[..]
  3. ^ Celona, Larry; Jaeger, Max (20 September 2018). "Inside the friendship between MLK Jr. and the surgeon who saved him". New York Post.
  4. ^ a b Michael Daly (January 20, 2014). "The Black and White Men Who Saved Martin Luther King's Life". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-01-22. Stabbed in the chest in 1958, one mistake or sneeze would have fatally severed his aorta if not for the deft work for two cops and two surgeons.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Felicia. "Dr. John Cordice, who operated on MLK after stabbing, dies - CNN.com". CNN.
  6. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (2 October 1958). "NY Police Probe Facts Behind Stabbing of Rev. M. L. King. Jr". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 7 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Cardozo HS coach Naclerio sets PSAL record with 723rd win". New York Daily News.
  8. ^ "Dr. W.V. Cordice Jr., 94, a Surgeon Who Helped Save Dr. King, Dies". The New York Times. 5 January 2014.
  9. ^ Pearson, Hugh (4 January 2011). When Harlem Nearly Killed King: The 1958 Stabbing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 9781609803216 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Linge, Mary Kay; Tanzer, Joshua (17 September 2016). "The top 40 public high schools in NYC".
Categories