Emergency resuscitation. 19th-century artwork of the first and second stages of the emergency resuscitation process as then known. Widespread attempts to teach methods to resuscitate drowning victims began in the 18th century. These evolved into what is now known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), though the cardiac compression stages were not developed until the 1960s. The stages shown here are intended to remove water from the stomach and lungs. This would have been followed by breathing into the victim's mouth or nose (artificial respiration). Artwork from an edition of 'Encyclopaedia Americana' (1886).