"Daniel Ellsberg, the world's most famous political whistleblower, passed away at the age of 92 at his home in California, USA on June 16 (local time)" - The Guardian reported.
The death of the legendary character, who was made into a film, was also confirmed by his family. The family said Mr. Ellsberg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March. At the time, doctors gave Mr. Ellsberg three to six months to live and he decided not to undergo chemotherapy.
"Mr. Ellsberg passed away peacefully, without pain. In the last months of his life, he enjoyed his favorite foods and watched his favorite movies," said a family representative. Previously, his cardiologist had allowed Mr. Ellsberg to stop his salt-free diet for the past 6 years.
Daniel Ellsberg speaks to the media in 1971. Photo: Bettmann
"Whistleblower" Daniel Ellsberg worked as a defense analyst for the RAND Corporation in the 1960s.
His views on the Vietnam War gradually changed after reading secret documents showing that the US had lied to the public about its ability to win the war in Vietnam, when in fact the opposite was true.
So he decided to reveal the entire "Pentagon Papers" in 1971. The 7,000-page document, which covered US policy in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967, showed that the US government realized that they could not win the war.
The Pentagon Papers were first published by the New York Times , then the Washington Post and other US newspapers, after the US Supreme Court rejected the argument of President Richard Nixon's administration that revealing the files would affect national security.
Admitting that he was the leaker of classified documents put Mr. Ellsberg on trial in 1973, facing a sentence of 115 years in prison.
He was ultimately acquitted after the court found that former President Richard Nixon's government had committed numerous wrongdoings, including breaking into Mr. Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office.
Mr. Ellsberg and his wife Patricia Marx Ellsberg at an event in Washington in 2017. Photo: The Washington Post
The leak of the "Pentagon Papers" by "whistleblower" Ellsberg was portrayed in the 2017 film "The Post."
Born in Chicago on April 7, 1931, Mr. Ellsberg was educated at Harvard and Cambridge, receiving his doctorate after serving in the military. He was married twice and had two sons and a daughter.
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