Henry Heimlich Henry Heimlich Henry Judah Heimlich (; February 3, 1920 – December 17, 2016) was an American thoracic surgeon and medical researcher. He is widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking, described in "Emergency Medicine" in 1974. He also invented the Micro Trach portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients and the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve, or "flutter valve", which drains blood and air out of the chest cavity. Heimlich was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Mary (Epstein) and Philip Heimlich. His paternal grandparents were Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, and his maternal
Henry Heimlich "wide-ranging, unseen 50-year history of fraud" and has called his father, "a spectacular con man and serial liar" and has claimed "The only thing my father ever invented was his own mythology."; Janet Heimlich, a freelance reporter; and Elisabeth Heimlich. Heimlich was the uncle of Anson Williams, who is known for his portrayal of Warren "Potsie" Weber on the 1970s hit TV show "Happy Days". Heimlich's memoir, "Heimlich's Maneuvers: My Seventy Years Of Lifesaving Innovation", was published in 2014 by Prometheus Books. A statement from his family said Heimlich died at The Christ Hospital on December 17, 2016, after complications