George Washington Crile Quotes
Mexico ... with a deep rooted grievance, and an iron curtain at its frontier.
This appears to be the first political reference to the phrase 'iron curtain.' The origin probably stems from the iron curtain used as a safety device in theaters in the days of gaslights and candles. Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels used the phrase in World War II {601664} and Churchill {411311} made it famous after the war. It is not known if any of them had known of Crile’s work.
George Washington Crile, 1864-1943, Physician & Writer, A Mechanistic View of War and Peace, 1915
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This was the most famous public use of the term "iron curtain" in the cold war. Churchill had used the term privately in an even earlier cable to President Truman. However, the phrase "iron curtain" was used by T. St. Vincent Wallace Troubridge even a few months earlier. Also, it appears to have been used earlier than that by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Das Reich {601664}. But George Washington Crile used the phrase in a political context in 1915 {598870}. And Viscountess Snowden used the phrase in her memoirs of a Past WWI trip to Russia {616546} It is not known whether Troubridge or Churchill were familiar with those works.
Many people mistakenly believe that this was the first political use of the “iron curtain” phrase—in German, “eiserner vorhang.” However, George Washington Crile used the phrase in 1915 {598870}. It is not known whether Geobbels knew of Crile’s work, or if Winston Churchill in his famous speech {411311} was familiar with either Crille’s or Goebbels use.
1st Viscountess Snowden. See Winston Churchill regarding the most famous use of the “iron curtain” phrase {411311}. She seems to have been an earlier user. The phrase " iron curtain" was used by T. St. Vincent Wallace Troubridge a few months earlier than Churchill. Also, it appears to have been used earlier than that by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Das Reich {601664}. But George Washington Crile used the phrase in a political context in 1915 {598870}. And Viscountess Snowden used the phrase in her memoirs of a Past WWI trip to Russia {616546}. It is not known whether Troubridge or Churchill were familiar with any of these other works.
George Washington Crile was an American surgeon. Crile is now formally recognized as the first surgeon to have succeeded in a direct blood transfusion. He contributed to other procedures, such as neck dissection. Crile designed a small hemostatic forceps which bears his name; the Crile mosquito clamp. He also described a technique for using opioids, regional anesthesia and general anesthesia which is a concept known as balanced anesthesia. He is also known for co-founding the Cleveland Clinic in 1921.
