Most of us probably know—more or less—how to resuscitate one of our fellow human beings. Even if you haven’t taken a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), you’ve probably seen the technique many times on television or in the movies. The early history of resuscitation was in many ways also the stuff of drama. On June 1, 1782, for example, a Philadelphia newspaper carried news of the latest resuscitative miracle: A 5-year-old child had been restored to life after drowning in the Delaware River. Little Rowland Oliver was playing on one of the busy wharves that industrialization had brought to Delaware’s banks when he tumbled into the water. He struggled for 10 minutes, then went limp. Finally, a worker fished him out and carried him home. Although Rowland was delivered lifeless to his family, the paper reported that his parents recognized he was only “apparently dead.” This energized them into action. …