The Pentagon Papers were a classified Defense Department study of United States decision-making in Vietnam. Commissioned under Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the project assembled a large documentary record and analytical history of American involvement across successive administrations.
Daniel Ellsberg later provided portions of the study to newspapers, beginning with The New York Times in 1971. Publication triggered a major confrontation over secrecy, press freedom and the credibility of official accounts of the war.
Daniel Ellsberg, Robert McNamara, Anthony Russo, Ben Bradlee, Neil Sheehan, Katharine Graham, Richard Milhous Nixon, Leslie Gelb
Washington, New York, Los Angeles, United States
Near-identical rows with the same date and place are consolidated for this page. The underlying database records remain unchanged and searchable on the main Vietnam War page.
Chronology is ordered by year, month and day where those fields are present.
Instead of using existing Defense Department historians, McNamara assigned his close aide and Assistant Secretary of Defense John T. McNaughton to collect the papers. McNaughton died in an air accident one month after work began in June 1967, but the project continued under the direction of Defense Department official Leslie H. Gelb
McNaughton's death during 1967 removes one of the original leaders appointed to organize the Pentagon Papers study.
Has access to the complete set of documents which reveal that the Government had knowledge all along that the war would not likely be won, and that continuing the war would lead to many times more casualties than admtted. Contributes to a top-secret study of classified documents regarding the conduct of the Vietnam War that had been commissioned by Defence Secretary McNamara
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara created the Vietnam Study Task Force on June 17, 1967, for the purpose of writing an "encyclopedic history of the Vietnam War". McNamara claimed that he wanted to leave a written record for historians, to prevent policy errors in future administrations
Halperin works within the leadership structure coordinating analysts assigned to the Defense Department's Vietnam history.
Halperin helps shape the organization of the classified project examining earlier American decisions in Vietnam.
Gelb assumes a central directing role in the Defense Department task force compiling the classified Vietnam history.
McNamara's historical project is conducted as a highly classified Defense Department study later known as the Pentagon Papers.
McNamara neglected to inform either President Lyndon Johnson or Secretary of State Dean Rusk about the study. One report claimed that McNamara planned to give the work to his friend Robert F. Kennedy, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968. McNamara later denied this, although he admitted that he should have informed Johnson and Rusk
Gelb supervises compilation of analytical studies and supporting government documents into the multi-volume Vietnam history.
It was classified Top Secret-Sensitive, although Sensitive was not an official classification and only indicated that access should be controlled.
McNamara left the Defense Department in February 1968, and his successor Clark M. Clifford received the finished study on January 15, 1969, five days before Richard Nixon's inauguration – although Clifford claimed he never read it.
The study contained 3,000 pages of historical analysis and 4,000 pages of original government documents in 47 volumes.
The completed study presented by Gelb remains classified at the Top Secret level.
Russo helps reproduce Pentagon Papers documents that Ellsberg intends to circulate beyond authorized government channels.
Ellsberg begins secretly reproducing portions of the classified Pentagon Papers while associated with RAND.
Russo assists Ellsberg with reproduction of classified Pentagon Papers material during the copying operation.
With the assistance of his former RAND Corporation colleague, Anthony Russo, Ellsberg secretly made several sets of photocopies of the classified documents he had access to - these became known as the Pentagon Papers
Tries to persuade sympathetic senators to release the Pentagon Papers
Is approached by Daniel Ellsberg about releasing the Pentagon Papers
Ellsberg says he tries to furnish Pentagon Papers material to Senator J. William Fulbright in hopes of congressional disclosure.
Ellsberg says he tries to furnish Pentagon Papers material to former Senator Charles Goodell while seeking official disclosure.
Fulbright is among the senators Ellsberg says he approached while seeking congressional release of the Pentagon Papers.
Goodell becomes part of Ellsberg's unsuccessful effort to use political channels before wider press publication.
McGovern is approached as Ellsberg searches for a senator willing to make the classified study public.
Goodell is among the political figures Ellsberg says he tried to furnish with Pentagon Papers material.
Ellsberg seeks a way to make the classified history public through elected officials before turning to the press.
For 15 days, the Times was prevented from publishing its articles by court order requested by the Nixon administration, meanwhile, Ellsberg leaks the documents to The Washington Post and 17 other newspapers. Ellsberg releases the documents to New York Times correspondent Neil Sheehan & On Sunday, June 13, 1971, the Times publishes the first of nine excerpts and commentaries on the 7,000 page collection
In February 1971, Ellsberg discussed the study with The New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan, and gave 43 of the volumes to him in March
Sheehan obtains extensive Pentagon Papers material that becomes the basis for the New York Times publication project.
The New York Times began publishing excerpts on June 13, 1971; the first article in the series was titled "Vietnam Archive: Pentagon Study Traces Three Decades of Growing US Involvement". The study was dubbed The Pentagon Papers during the resulting media publicity. Street protests, political controversy, and lawsuits followed
Leaked Pentagon Papers begin appearing in the New York Times
The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers
Sulzberger oversees the newspaper as the New York Times decides to publish material from the classified Pentagon Papers.
The New York Times begins publishing its Pentagon Papers series based on material obtained by Sheehan.
Sulzberger's newspaper receives the Nixon administration demand that further publication of the Pentagon Papers stop.
Gurfein issues a temporary restraining order stopping further New York Times publication while the Pentagon Papers case is heard.
Seeks legal action to stop publication of the Pentagon Papers
Seeks to halt publication of the Pentagon Papers
Bradlee gathers reporters at his Georgetown home to review Pentagon Papers material and prepare stories for publication.
Bradlee receives access to a copy of the Pentagon Papers as the Washington Post prepares its own reporting.
Graham authorizes the Washington Post to publish Pentagon Papers material despite warnings about legal and financial risk.
Graham accepts the risk of government legal action and supports publication of the classified study.
Roberts joins the Washington Post team examining the Pentagon Papers at Bradlee's home before publication.
On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series of articles based upon the Pentagon Papers; Ellsberg gave portions to editor Ben Bradlee
Bradlee supports continued publication as the Washington Post defends itself against the government's effort to stop the series.
The Washington Post begins its Pentagon Papers series after Graham approves publication.
Roberts writes for the Washington Post edition that begins publishing Pentagon Papers material.
Gesell hears the government's request to prevent the Washington Post from continuing its Pentagon Papers series.
Bradlee directs publication of the Washington Post's first Pentagon Papers stories.
Admits to delivering the Pentagon Papers to New York Times
Gravel uses a Senate subcommittee proceeding to place extensive Pentagon Papers material into a public congressional setting.
Gravel inserts the remaining Pentagon Papers material in his possession into the Senate subcommittee record.
Gravel reads portions of the Pentagon Papers during a meeting of a Senate subcommittee.
The Supreme Court ordered publication of the Times to resume freely (New York Times Co. v. United States). Although the Times did not reveal Ellsberg as their source, he went into hiding for 13 days afterwards, suspecting that the evidence would point to him as the source of the theft
White votes with the majority allowing publication while separately discussing possible criminal remedies after publication.
Douglas votes with the majority rejecting the government's effort to restrain publication of the Pentagon Papers.
Marshall votes with the majority in the Supreme Court decision permitting Pentagon Papers publication to continue.
Brennan votes with the majority allowing publication to continue and writes separately on the exceptionally narrow basis for prior restraint.
Joins the Supreme Court decision allowing publication of the Pentagon Papers
Blackmun dissents from the Supreme Court judgment that rejects the government's request for prior restraint.
Harlan dissents from the Supreme Court judgment in the Pentagon Papers prior-restraint case.
Burger dissents from the Supreme Court judgment allowing immediate continued publication of the Pentagon Papers.
Black votes with the six-justice majority allowing the New York Times and Washington Post to continue publishing the Pentagon Papers.
Graham's newspaper prevails with the New York Times when the Supreme Court allows Pentagon Papers publication to continue.
Gurfein presides over the federal court dispute between the government and the New York Times over prior restraint.
Russo refuses to provide testimony sought by a federal grand jury investigating the Pentagon Papers disclosure.
Ellsberg provides Pentagon Papers documents to Representative Paul McCloskey while continuing attempts to obtain congressional disclosure.
McCloskey's possession of study documents demonstrates that Ellsberg distributed material through congressional as well as press channels.
Sheehan works with Times colleagues reviewing the classified study and preparing a major series on United States Vietnam decision-making.
Federal prosecutors charge Russo in connection with the copying and disclosure of classified Pentagon Papers material.
McGovern remains associated with congressional efforts to challenge official Vietnam policy as the Pentagon Papers controversy develops.
Fulbright's Senate Foreign Relations Committee becomes closely associated with congressional scrutiny of Vietnam policy revealed by the Pentagon Papers.
McCloskey publicly acknowledges possessing Pentagon Papers documents supplied by Ellsberg.
The Supreme Court allows the publication of the Pentagon Papers to continue. Attempts to prevent further publications by researchers headed by Robert McNamara
The New York Times & Washington Post can resume publication of the Pentagon Papers
This authority page consolidates World History Database records into a readable chronology. The database rows are research-index entries; important claims should be checked against primary documents and specialist histories.
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Compiled and edited by the World History Database from structured historical records. This page consolidates 84 matching rows into 76 chronology entries to reduce duplicate and near-duplicate display. Last reviewed 2026-10-06.