On September 20, 1958,
Izola Curry stabbed
Martin Luther King Jr. in the chest with a letter opener at a book-signing in a
Harlem department store. Correctly noting that the opener entered above King's heart (later proven to be within centimeters of his aorta),
NYPD police officers Al Howard and Phil Romano took King in his chair down to an ambulance that took King to
Harlem Hospital, where he was treated by the hospital's trauma surgeons, Dr.
John W. V. Cordice, Jr. and Dr.
Emil Naclerio. At one point, Chief of Surgery
Aubre de Lambert Maynard entered and attempted to remove the letter opener from King's chest, but cut his glove on the blade; a surgical clamp was needed to remove it. File:Briefoeffner mit kuvert und hand (fcm).jpg|Opening a letter File:Elektrischer Brieföffner HEFTER OL400.JPG|Electric letter opener File:Elektrischer Brieföffner Premier 1624 von Martin Yale Industries (3).jpg|Electric letter opener Premier 1624 (Martin Yale Industries) File:Briefoeffner mit Hand (fcm).jpg|Conventional letter opener File:Uncut book p1190369.jpg|Unopened book pages, to be cut with a paper knife == References ==