It has been my great fortune to serve as the 85th president of the New England Surgical Society. I am grateful to all of my colleagues for the privilege of serving in this role over the past year. Certainly, one of the greatest honors a surgeon can receive is to be selected by his peers to a leadership position in a prominent society. With the receipt of such a responsibility, the first question that probably crosses the minds of most presidents-elect is: “How can I help to maintain this society's traditions of leadership, education, and camaraderie?” This is closely followed by, “What can I possibly say in my presidential address that is worth saying?” As one reviews previous presidential addresses, it is apparent that a favorite theme is our surgical heritage, in which stories of the achievements of those surgeons recognized as giants in the field are retold. I have chosen to review the lives and contributions of the 9 surgeons whose singular accomplishments have been honored with the Nobel Prize in medicine, the highest scientific distinction.