Daniel Ellsberg
1931 – 2023 American Military analyst, whistleblower
US analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971.
- Religion
- Raised Christian Scientist.
- Affiliations
- Former RAND Corporation and Pentagon analyst; later an anti war and anti nuclear activist.
Daniel Ellsberg worked as a military analyst at the RAND Corporation and the Defense Department, where he helped prepare a secret study of US decision making in Vietnam. In 1971 he leaked that study, known as the Pentagon Papers, to the press. His prosecution collapsed after government misconduct, and he spent the rest of his life as an activist and supporter of later whistleblowers.
Connections
- ally of Chelsea Manning — Vocal supporter of Manning after the 2010 disclosures.
- ally of Julian Assange — Ellsberg was a prominent public defender of Assange.
- ally of Julian Assange — Publicly defended Assange and WikiLeaks and compared their work to his own.
- associate of Seymour Hersh — Contemporaries in exposing the hidden record of the Vietnam War.
In the timeline
- 1969 Daniel Ellsberg copies the Pentagon Papers central figure
- 1971 The Pentagon Papers are published mentioned
- 1971 New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers mentioned