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William "Wild Bill" Donovan

William J. Donovan
William Donovan.jpg
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
(1883-01-01)January 1, 1883
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died February 8, 1959(1959-02-08) (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 US-O8 insignia.svg 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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