William A. Eddy
| William Alfred Eddy | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bill Eddy |
| Born | March 9, 1896 Sidon, Lebanon |
| Died | May 3, 1962 (66 years) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Buried at | Sidon |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1917–c.1918 1941–1944 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held | 6th Marine Regiment |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Navy Cross Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star (2) Purple Heart (2) |
| Other work | University professor and president, Minister to Saudi Arabia |
William Alfred "Bill" Eddy, Ph.D., Col., USMC (March 9, 1896 – May 3, 1962) was a U.S. minister to Saudi Arabia (1944–1946), university professor and college president (1936–42), and United States Marine Corps officer—serving in World War I and World War II, and U.S. intelligence officer.
After serving in World War I, Eddy had an academic career as a literary scholar and professor of English, at Dartmouth College and the American University in Cairo. He was later president of both Hobart College and William Smith College (1936–42). Eddy returned to military service just before the start of World War II, serving as an intelligence officer. From 1943 to 1945, he was the U.S. Minister to Saudi Arabia, a consultant for the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) and an instrumental figure in the development of the United States' relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. He was a key figure in the formation of the CIA.
In 2008 Arabian Knight: Colonel Bill Eddy USMC and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East, the first biography on Bill Eddy, was published by Selwa Press. It is written by the Middle East specialist, author and Washington Post journalist Thomas Lippman.
Eddy was born in 1896 in the city of Sidon, at the time a part of Syria, now in Lebanon. His parents, William King Eddy and Elizabeth Mills (Nelson) Eddy, were Presbyterian missionaries from the United States. Eddy grew up speaking both English at home and in school and Arabic on the streets with his friends. He stayed in the Middle East until high school and then went to the College of Wooster for his college preparatory education. His overseas upbringing and firsthand knowledge of Arabic and Arab culture would play a pivotal role in his life and in American–Saudi relations.
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