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First Post
6 days ago
- Health
- First Post
History Today: When blood transfusion was performed for the first time in France
The first blood transfusion was performed by French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys on June 15, 1667. The procedure was performed on a 15-year-old boy who was weakened by a fever for nearly two months. On this day in 1917, the US Congress passed the Espionage Act, just two months after joining World War I read more While blood transfusion is common now, the first one took place in France. Representational image/AP In today's times, a huge number of people depend on blood transfusions. Those that need it can range from accident victims to people with blood disorders like Thalassemia. While these transfusions are a common practice in today's world, that was not the case in the 17th Century. Back then, it was unheard of. But all changed when the first successful blood transfusion took place on June 15, 1667, in France. French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys performed it to transfuse 0.35 litres of a lamb's blood into a 15 year-old-boy who had been severely weakened by a prolonged fever and repeated bloodletting. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers' ongoing series, History Today will be your one-stop destination to explore key events. On this day in 1917, the US Congress passed the Espionage Act, just two months after it formally entered World War I. 'All the President's Men', the first definitive book about the Watergate scandal, was published on this day in 1974. Nearly two months later then-President Richard Nixon resigned from office. The first blood transfusion was performed One of the most pivotal moments in medical history took place on this day in 1667 when French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys performed what is widely considered the first fully documented blood transfusion to a human. Faced with a 15-year-old boy suffering from a severe, two-month fever, Denys and his assistant first tried the traditional method of 'letting blood.' When this proved ineffective, they opted for an experimental blood transfusion from a live animal, a technique they had been exploring for years. Connecting a tube from a lamb's artery to a vein in the boy's arm, they transferred approximately 340 grams of blood. After the procedure and a period of rest, Denis noted the boy awoke feeling 'cheerful enough' and subsequently made a full recovery. France released a stamp to mark the day the first blood transfusion took place. file image/AP Denys later performed another successful animal-to-human transfusion on a labourer. These early attempts at xenotransfusion (transfusing blood from one species to another) were experimental and often met with controversy and mixed results, with some subsequent patients experiencing severe reactions and even death. The scientific understanding of blood compatibility, including blood types, would not emerge for centuries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite the inherent risks and the eventual ban on animal-to-human transfusions due to adverse reactions, Denys's courageous experiments on June 15, 1667, marked a crucial early step in the long and complex history of blood transfusion. US Congress passes Espionage Act A landmark federal law was enacted on June 15, 1917, with the US Congress passing the Espionage Act, just months after it officially entered World War I. The law was enacted in view of widespread concerns about national security, espionage and growing anti-war sentiment. Under President Woodrow Wilson , Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer was a key enforcer of the Espionage Act. This legislation effectively made it an offence to transmit information designed to hinder the US armed forces' conduct of the war or to promote the adversaries' cause. Convicted individuals were liable to a $10,000 fine and 20 years in prison. Furthermore, it made it illegal to make false statements intended to interfere with military operations, cause insubordination, disloyalty, or obstruct military recruitment. The Espionage Act was reinforced by the Sedition Act of the following year, which imposed similarly harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war, insulting or abusing the US government, the flag, the Constitution or the military, agitating against the production of necessary war materials or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is still relevant today. The Julian Assange case is one of the most recent cases where the Act has come into effect. In June 2024, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information, a violation of the Espionage Act. 'All the President's Men' was published One of the most ground-breaking non-fiction books 'All the President's Men' was published on this day in 1974. The book was a detailed account of the investigative reporting of the Watergate scandal. This release occurred just months before President Richard Nixon's resignation, making it an incredibly timely and impactful exposé on the unfolding Watergate scandal. Authored by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the book told the behind-the-scenes story of the Watergate scandal beginning with the 1972 burglary of the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Complex , and revealing the full scope of the saga. President Richard Nixon tells a group of Republican campaign contributors, he will get to the bottom of Watergate Scandal. File image/AP It revealed the involvement of officials like HR Haldeman and John Ehrlichman and famously introduced the mysterious anonymous source, ' Deep Throat, ' whose identity remained a secret for over 30 years. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With this book, the authors became household names. The Denver Post termed All the President's Men, 'One of the greatest detective stories ever told.' Time magazine called the book 'perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history.' The New York Times dubbed it a 'fast-moving mystery, a whodunit written with ease.' This Day, That Year On this day in 1944, US Marines attacked Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Arlington National Cemetery was established on this day in 1864. George Washington was named Commander in Chief of the Colonies by the Continental Congress in 1775.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CIA analyst who leaked Israel strike plan sentenced to three years
A former CIA analyst who leaked classified documents about Israel's plans to strike Iran has been sentenced to 37 months in prison. Asif William Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defence information under the Espionage Act. Authorities say that, using his high-level security clearance, Rahman printed, photographed and sent out top secret documents. They later ended up being circulated on social media. Israel carried out air strikes on Iran last October, targeting military sites in several regions, in response to the barrage of missiles launched by Tehran weeks earlier. "For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering his office by leaking some of our Nation's most closely held secrets," John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a press release. In October 2024, documents appearing to be from a Department of Defense agency were published on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account. The documents, bearing a top-secret mark, were viewable between the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, made up of the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The leaked documents are also said to have contained the US' assessment of Israeli plans ahead of the strike on Iran and the movements of military assets in preparation. One referred to Israel's nuclear capabilities, which have never been officially acknowledged. When asked about the leak, former President Joe Biden said he was "deeply concerned". Israel ended up carrying out those air strikes later in the month, targeting military sites in several regions in response to missiles fired by Tehran weeks prior. Rahman, who worked abroad, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia and brought to the US territory of Guam to face charges.
Washington Post
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
CIA analyst who leaked Israeli military plans gets three years in prison
A former CIA analyst who leaked highly classified records about Israeli plans for a military strike on Iran, which spread quickly through social media last year, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and one month in prison. Asif W. Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Espionage Act, admitting that he leaked more than a dozen classified documents while working as a CIA analyst. He was arrested last year after FBI investigators traced the download of two records detailing Israeli military preparations to Rahman's workstation at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The Intercept
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Trump Appointee Wanted to Lock Up CIA Leaker for a Decade. The Judge Ignored Him.
A federal judge in Virginia sentenced the former CIA employee who leaked Israeli military secrets to three years and one month in prison on Wednesday, rejecting the government's request for a much harsher term. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said she had to balance the potential harm caused by Asif William Rahman's disclosure of secret analyses of Israel's plans for an attack on Iran against his swift decision to cooperate and plead guilty to two Espionage Act violations. 'For you to go from that to this — reckless, dangerous — I understand that something must have been going on.' While the high school valedictorian and Yale University graduate sat in a green jail jumpsuit at the defense table, Giles gave credit to the defense's argument that Rahman acted both in response to soaring tensions in the Middle East and out of trauma caused in part by a deployment to Iraq. 'For someone who has lived such a law-abiding life for all these years,' she said, 'for you to go from that to this — reckless, dangerous — I understand that something must have been going on.' In addition to his prison term, she gave Rahman two years' probation and a $50,000 fine. Rahman's sentence was significantly lower than the 9 years the government requested in a briefing last month — a sentence prosecutors said was warranted by the harm he 'could have' caused and ill will demonstrated by a list of relatively routine phone apps. Defense lawyers responded that the request violated the spirit if not the letter of Rahman's plea agreement and that bumping the prison term so far beyond sentencing guidelines despite his cooperation was 'unprecedented.' In the end, the defense prevailed, and Giles's sentence ended up below the statutory guideline. The sentencing capped a relatively short and secretive legal process that began with Rahman's arrest last November in Cambodia, where he was posted with the CIA. A month earlier, the government analyses of Israel's preparations for a strike on Iran were made public on social media. Prosecutors have said that those disclosures may have briefly delayed the Israeli strike that took place later that month. Much remains publicly unknown about Rahman's disclosures, including how many other documents he leaked and who he leaked them to. Prosecutors said the disclosures spanned multiple months. Giles hinted, however, that the other documents Rahman leaked contained highly sensitive information. 'What is on the public record is small to me,' she said. Still-classified records that are unknown to the public, she said, 'shows how serious this conduct is, how dangerous it is, how reckless.' In a reflection of the top-secret nature of the documents Rahman disclosed last year, the courtroom remained sealed to the public for much of the four-hour sentencing hearing. A federal prosecutor said Wednesday that it had backed off the high end of that recommendation, without publicly disclosing the government's new request. In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards acknowledged that prosecutors had not charged Rahman with a separate offense that would have required them to show actual harm. While acknowledging that the judge had a 'complicated' decision to make, he said she should hand down a sentence that would deter future leakers. 'When you take an oath to serve this country it means something,' Edwards said, 'and it has to mean something.' Giles said she had completely discarded the inflammatory allegation in a declaration from a high-level political appointee at the CIA, Michael Ellis, that Rahman had caused 'exceptionally grave' damage to national security. Defense lawyers had cried foul over that declaration, which they said was not backed up by any evidence, and over a directive — which they said came from top Justice Department officials — to seek a sentence close to the 10-year maximum despite Rahman's extensive cooperation. They asked the judge to hand Rahman a 13-month sentence, but they and a large group of family members and supporters appeared to be satisfied with a prison term below the statutory guideline of roughly 5 to 6 years. Several family members exchanged hugs with Rahman's defense lawyers after the hearing. Lawyer Amy Jeffress told the Intercept she did not expect to appeal the sentence. In public court filings, the defense gave only vague explanations of the political motivations for the leaks, saying that Rahman acted out of a 'misguided' belief that he could advance the cause of peace. The former analyst himself addressed the judge in a brief courtroom statement where he apologized to his former colleagues at the CIA and said he constantly frets that his disclosures could have endangered servicemembers in the Middle East. 'There is no excuse for my actions. I constantly reflect on the trust that I violated,' he said. 'It was an honor and a privilege to work at the CIA.'
Chicago Tribune
07-06-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Great apes enjoy new habitat — with no bars — at Lincoln Park Zoo
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 7, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1917: Lions International was founded at the LaSalle Hotel. Members of 42 business clubs assembled there at the invitation of Melvin Jones, a 38-year-old Chicago salesman. Jones sought to create an international association dedicated to service — beyond what the individual organizations were doing locally in their communities. The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the Association of Lions Clubs. Jones approved of the name since it stood for 'fidelity through the ages; he has only one mate.' Within three years, Lions became an international organization. 1942: Stanley Johnston was an Australian American journalist who, as a correspondent during World War II, wrote a story for the Tribune that inadvertently revealed the extent of American code-breaking activities against the Imperial Japanese Navy, or IJN. The story resulted in efforts by the United States government to prosecute Johnston and other Tribune journalists, an effort what remains the only time the Espionage Act was used against journalists in the United States. 1976: Five people were injured — two seriously — after bombs planted by the FALN (a Spanish acronym for the Armed Forces of National Liberation) went off about 11 p.m. at Chicago police headquarters at 11th and State streets, the First National Bank at Dearborn and Madison streets, the John Hancock Center and a bank across from City Hall. The victims had just emerged from 'Sherlock Holmes' at the Shubert Theater. Further injuries were avoided during a shift change at the police station, the Tribune reported, through the actions of an officer who noticed a suspicious package after hearing reports of the other blasts and helped clear the area. A history of bomb attacksOver the next four years, the FALN carried out 16 more bombings, including at a Holiday Inn, the Merchandise Mart, two armed forces recruiting offices, the County Building and the Great Lakes Naval training base outside North Chicago. Nobody was injured in any of those overnight attacks. Also in 1976: The Great Ape House, which included six indoor habitats and a nursery plus an outdoor habitat, opened at Lincoln Park Zoo. The biggest improvement: no bars between animals and people. Just large, glass windows. And, it 'rained' at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to replicate the apes' natural environment and keep foliage in the habitat watered. The moving of animals from the old Primate House to the new Great Ape House was recorded by filmmaker Dugan Rosalini, who compiled the footage into the one-hour documentary 'Otto: Zoo Gorilla'. This project and the zoo's hospital were part of the zoo's $20 million building project, which was completed in 1982. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
