Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931 – June 16, 2023) was an American activist and former United States military analyst who was known for releasing the classified Pentagon Papers to The Washington Post.

Daniel Ellsberg
Ellsberg in 2020
Born	(1931-04-07)April 7, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 16, 2023(2023-06-16) (aged 92) Kensington, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Pancreatic cancer
Education	Harvard University (AB, PhD) King's College, Cambridge
Employer	RAND Corporation
Known for	Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg paradox
Spouse(s)	Carol Cummings (divorced) Patricia Marx ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	Robert, Mary (1st marriage) Michael Ellsberg (2nd marriage)
Website	www.ellsberg.net

Ellsberg at Georgetown University in 2014.

Pentagon Papers

While employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers.

Charge

Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years. Due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, and the defense by Leonard Boudin and Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. dismissed all charges against Ellsberg on May 11, 1973.^[1]

Death

In March 2023, Ellsberg wrote that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.^[2][3][4] He died at his home in Kensington, California, on June 16, 2023.^[5]