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Sherman Kent


Sherman Kent (December 6, 1903 – March 11, 1986), was a Yale University history professor who, during World War II and through 17 years of Cold War-era service in the Central Intelligence Agency, pioneered many of the methods of intelligence analysis. He is often described as "the father of intelligence analysis".

Kent was the son of U.S. Congressman William Kent and women's rights activist Elizabeth Thacher Kent, and the brother of Roger Kent and Adaline Kent. His grandfather was Yale professor Thomas Anthony Thacher, and he was great-great-great grandson of American founding father Roger Sherman. He was a graduate of The Thacher School (founded by his uncle Sherman Day Thacher) and Yale University where he studied European history with the intention of spending his career as an academic. After graduating, he spent several years teaching and doing research but joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with the outbreak of the war in Europe.

Sherman Kent first served within the Research and Analysis Branch of the OSS as Chief of the Europe-Africa Division. In this capacity, he oversaw much of the process which would now be considered intelligence preparation of the battlespace in support of planning for Operation Torch, the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa. (An irreverent wit, Kent once proposed for the heraldic emblem of the often-zany OSS, "A horse's ass rampant on a Boston Social Register".)


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