Peter Safar

Thursday, January 03, 1957

Peter Safar was born in Austria in 1924. Due to his Jewish identity, Safer was sent to a forced labor camp in Bavaria. In 1948, Safer graduated from the University of Vienna and the following year, he immigrated to the United States to complete his surgical training at Yale University. In 1957, Safar demonstrated cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques combined with chest compressions, the foundation of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Known as the "father of CPR," Safar played a key role in establishing the first intensive care unit at Baltimore City Hospital (1958). In 1966, Safer helped develop the first U.S. paramedic emergency medical service in Pittsburgh (Freedom House Ambulance Service).