Dr. Heimlich first publishes his technique for rescuing choking victims

On this day in US history, the stop-choking technique invented by Henry J. Heimlich was published in the medical journal Emergency Medicine on June 1, 1974. The Heimlich maneuver involves thrusting inward and upward on the abdomen and has become a go-to for saving choking victims. The technique went on to save tens of thousands in the next half-century alone, and it’s now memorialized annually as National Heimlich Maneuver Day.