Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst and prominent whistleblower, died at the age of 92 in his home in Kensington, California, on Friday.
The cause of his death was pancreatic cancer, according to The New York Times.
Ellsberg is best known for his decision in 1971 to leak the Pentagon Papers, a secret history of American involvement in Vietnam that revealed lies to the American public by successive administrations. The release of the Pentagon Papers intensified the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War and the conduct of American foreign policy.
Born on April 7, 1931, in Chicago, Ellsberg experienced personal tragedy at a young age when his mother and sister died in a car accident. He excelled academically, attending prep school, Harvard, and the University of Cambridge, where he earned high honors. After joining the Marines in 1954 and serving during the Suez crisis, he pursued further education, obtaining a doctorate from Harvard and working as a military analyst at the RAND Corporation.
During his time at RAND, Ellsberg became deeply involved in studying crisis situations and nuclear warfare. His experience in Vietnam and exposure to the brutality of the war had a profound impact on him, leading to his transformation into an anti-war activist.
Frustrated by the lack of action by politicians, Ellsberg decided to leak classified documents to the press. In 1971, he gave copies of the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times and other publications, which exposed the government’s deceptive actions and sparked a legal battle over press freedom.
Ellsberg faced charges of espionage, conspiracy, and other crimes, but his case was dismissed due to government misconduct. Despite the legal challenges, he continued to be an active voice against war and nuclear weapons, advocating for disarmament and speaking out against U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Throughout his life, Ellsberg authored numerous articles and books, including “Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers” (2002) and “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear Planner” (2017).
Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who allegedly leaked classified documents online pertaining to American actions in Ukraine, was indicted on six charges one day before Ellsberg’s death, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
