William "Wild Bill" Donovan
| William J. Donovan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| United States Ambassador to Thailand | |
|
In office September 4, 1953 – August 21, 1954 |
|
| President | Dwight Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Edwin F. Stanton |
| Succeeded by | John Peurifoy |
| Director of the Office of Strategic Services | |
|
In office June 13, 1942 – October 1, 1945 |
|
| President |
Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry Truman |
| Deputy | John Magruder |
| Preceded by | Himself (Coordinator of Information) |
| Succeeded by | John Magruder (Strategic Services Unit) |
| Coordinator of Information | |
|
In office July 11, 1941 – June 13, 1942 |
|
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Director of the Office of Strategic Services) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Joseph Donovan January 1, 1883 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 8, 1959 (aged 76) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education |
Niagara University Columbia University (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | "Wild Bill" |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
New York National Guard United States Army |
| Years of service | 1912–1916, 1919–1922 (National Guard) 1916–1919, 1941–1945 (Army) |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands |
165th Infantry Regiment Office of Strategic Services |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal (3) Silver Star Purple Heart (2) National Security Medal Freedom Award |
William Joseph ("Wild Bill") Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat. Donovan is best remembered as the wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II. He is also known as the "Father of American Intelligence" and the "Father of Central Intelligence". "The Central Intelligence Agency regards Donovan as its founding father," according to journalist Evan Thomas in a 2011 Vanity Fair profile. The lobby of CIA headquarters, in Langley, Virginia, now features a statue of Donovan. Thomas observed that Donovan's "exploits are utterly improbable but by now well documented in declassified wartime records that portray a brave, noble, headlong, gleeful, sometimes outrageous pursuit of action and skulduggery."
A decorated veteran of World War I, Donovan is the only person to have received all four of the United States' highest awards: The Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. He is a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart, as well as decorations from a number of other nations for his service during both World Wars.
Of Irish descent, Donovan was born in Buffalo, New York, to Anna Letitia "Tish" Donovan (née Lennon) and Timothy P. Donovan, both American-born children of Irish immigrants. (The Lennons were from Ulster, the Donovans from County Cork.) Donovan's grandfather Timothy O'Donovan (Sr.) was from the town of Skibbereen; raised by an uncle who was a parish priest, he married Donovan's grandmother Mary Mahoney, who belonged to a propertied family of substantial means that disapproved of him. They moved first to Canada and then to Buffalo, New York, where they dropped the "O" from their name. Donovan's father, born in 1858, worked as the superintendent of a Buffalo railroad yard, then as secretary for Holy Cross Cemetery, and also would attempt to engage in a political career, but with little success.
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Wikipedia