Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Manny Villafaña Papers

Summary
Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1340
Creators:
GV Medical, Inc.
Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
CABG Medical, Inc.
ATS Medical, Inc.
St. Jude Medical, Inc.
Med General, Inc.
Kips Bay Medical, Inc.
Helix BioCore, Inc.
Villafana, Manny, 1940-
Dates:
1961-2014
Languages:
Collection is in
English
. Some materials in
Hebrew
,
Italian
and
Spanish
.
Physical Description:
10 Cubic feet
25 boxes
Repository:
The collection documents Manny Villafaña, inventor, entrepreneur and founder of several medical device companies since 1971. The majority of the collection pertains to St. Jude Medical, which introduced the mechanical heart valve technology that became the industry standard.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 10 cubic feet of material documenting Manny Villafaña, an inventor and entrepreneur. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence and clippings related to his professional life. There are a few personal items in the collection, such as a St. Jude prayer card, included with the records of St. Jude Medical and a photograph of Villafaña (1988) at the construction site of the Basilica of St. Mary.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Manny Villafaña (b. 1940- ) began his career in medical technology as a salesman for Medtronic, Inc., exploring the potential market in Argentina. Upon his return to the U.S. Villafaña went on to found Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. and later St. Jude Medical. During the decade following the founding of CPI, Manny Villafaña business savvy and medical technology know-how would propel him to celebrity in the Minnesota business community and national entrepreneurial scene. Some of the technology introduced by Villafaña's companies, such as the St. Jude's pyrolytic bileaflet artificial heart valve, have become industry standards. Villafaña would eventually found seven medical technology companies, with Kips Bay being the most recent.
Administration
Author
Marlin Olivier
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Manny Villafaña on January 29, 2015.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Marlin Olivier, intern, supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Separated Materials
Related heart valves are in the Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History. See Accession 2015.003.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Manny Villafaña Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Related Materials
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation, 1996 (ACNMAH 0601)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, 1991-2004 (ACNMAH 0859)
George Edward Burch Papers, 1984-1986 (ACNMAH 0316)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Materials at Other Organizations
Conversazione
, November 20, 1997, January 21, 1998 and May 20, 1998. Oral history is on file at the Minnesota Historical Society.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Cardiovascular Equipment Industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 1980-2010 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heart, Artificial Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventors -- 21st century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Papers Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Minutes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical Equipment Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical innovations Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medical instruments and apparatus Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventions -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventions -- 21st century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Inventors -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heart -- Surgery Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Annual reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Medicine Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence -- 21st century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Annual reports -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Press releases Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stock records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu