David B. Todd Jr.

David Bernard Todd Jr. (March 22, 1931 – October 21, 1980) 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.

Early life Todd was born in 1931 in Jefferson County, Alabama. He graduated from Morehouse College, where he earned a bachelor's degree, followed by an MD from Meharry Medical College in 1956.

Career Todd began his career as an assistant professor of surgery at Meharry Medical College in 1966. He became associate professor of surgery in 1969, and full professor in 1979. 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."

Todd died on October 21, 1980, at the Riverside Hospital in Nashville, at age 48. His funeral was held at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, and he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. Dr DB Todd Jr. Boulevard, between Charlotte Avenue and Clarksville Pike, was named in his honor in 1982.