In Remembrance of G. Guy Knickerbocker: A Pioneer of CPR

Recently, the CPR industry lost one of its greatest innovators. G. Guy Knickerbocker passed away on June 23rd in Pennsylvania. Instrumental in developing the modern way of performing CPR, Guy has often been referred to as the “Father of CPR” and also as a man who “brings peace with him.”

WorldPoint wants to celebrate the life of G. Guy Knickerbocker, someone who helped pioneer CPR and without whom WorldPoint would not be here today.

The Life of the “Father of CPR”

Born in Pine Plains, NY in 1932, Guy lived for almost 90 years, loving life and pushing the boundaries of CPR in ways that few ever did. He attended Catonsville High School before heading to John Hopkins University where he not only received his Bachelors, but also his Masters and Doctorate.

During his life, Guy had two loves: his wife of 58 years, Joan Knickerbocker, and science. Guy worked as Chief Scientist and Expert Witness for the ECRI Institute in Pennsylvania for 30 years. He even had the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union in 1963 as part of a Cultural and Scientific Exchange Program, becoming well-versed in Russian.

Guy lived at home until December 2021 when he began living at the Zerbes Nursing Home in Pennsylvania where he would stay until his death. Continuing his love of science even after his death, Guy left his body to science.

The Discovery that Changed Healthcare

In 1954, Guy would start working on earning a PhD in electrical engineering. During that time, Guy would have an idea of how to restart a stopped heart, as well as how to keep circulation going long enough to save a life.

Four years later, he received funding from the National Institute of Health to begin work on a portable defibrillator. It was originally designed for electric companies to use on their utility linemen who suffered from an electrocution. Guy would observe that when heavy copper electrodes were applied to the chest, the patient’s blood pressure would briefly rise. Guy had just discovered how to give an external cardiac massage.

In a landmark article in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1960, Guy would explain his findings. For the next few years, he would travel the United States, demonstrating the effectiveness of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and an external cardiac massage. He was so dedicated to teaching that he would expose his own chest and be the model for other people to practice on.

Guy, Dr. James Jude, a cardiac surgeon who was helping with the research, and William Kouwenhoven, the man who ran the laboratory that Guy was a part of, all received the Hektoen Gold medal of the American Medical Association for their contributions to cardiac research and healthcare.

WorldPoint Will Always Remember G. Guy Knickerbocker

WorldPoint would not exist today without the efforts of scientists and researchers like G. Guy Knickerbocker. Without his efforts to save lives, WorldPoint would not be able to help others do the same by providing CPR training materials. We hope to continue Guy’s legacy through innovation and helping as many people as possible become trained in CPR.

Guy wanted to help everyone, not just people of certain skin colors or only men. He devoted his life to improving cardiac arrest survival rates and that’s a legacy that WorldPoint has strived to continue. With our recent release of WorldPoint Products®, we hope to follow in Guy’s footsteps. CPR Taylor® and Baby Tyler® are representative of real people, portraying women and people of color in a way that no other manikin has.

Cost-effective and inclusive, WorldPoint Products® champions health equity in the same way that Guy did for decades. Thank you to G. Guy Knickerbocker for helping us save lives.