William J. Donovan
Sign in to saveAlso known as William Joseph Donovan, Wm. J. Donovan, W. J. Donovan, “Bill” Donovan, “Wild Bill” Donovan
U.S. Army soldier during WWII, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat, head of the OSS (1883-1959)
Key facts
- President
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Preceded by
- Edwin F. Stanton
- Succeeded by
- John Peurifoy
- 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
- Party
- Republican
- Education
- Niagara University , Columbia University ( BA , LLB )
- Civilian awards
- National Security Medal Freedom Award
- Nickname
- Wild Bill
- Allegiance
- United States
- Branch service
- United States Army New York National Guard Army Reserve Office of the Coordinator of Information Office of Strategic Services
- Years of service
- 1912–1917 (National Guard) 1917–1919 (active) 1919–1941 (reserve) 1941–1945 (active)
- Rank
- Major General
- Commands
- 1st Battalion, 165th Infantry Regiment 165th Infantry Regiment 301st Cavalry Regiment
- Battles wars
- Pancho Villa Expedition World War I Champagne-Marne Aisne-Marne St. Mihiel Meuse-Argonne Defensive Sector Russian Civil War Allied intervention World War II American Theater Asiatic-Pacific Theater Mediterranean and Middle East theatre European theatre
- Military awards
- Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Purple Heart (3)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Buffalo
- Place of death
- Washington, D.C.
- Occupation
- diplomat
- Position held
- director
- Educated at
- Niagara University
- Employer
- Office of Strategic Services
- Political party
- Republican Party (United States)
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Conflict
- Meuse-Argonne Offensive
- Military branch
- United States Army
- Military rank
- major general
- Image
- William J. Donovan on September 6, 1918 - 111-SC-25158 - NARA - 55209863 (cropped).jpg
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- William J. Donovan
- date of birth
- 1883-01-01
- date of death
- 1959-02-08
- name in native language
- William Joseph Donovan
- member of
- American Legion
- nickname
- Wild Bill
- place of burial
- Arlington National Cemetery
- allegiance
- United States
- start of work period
- 1912-00-00
- owner of
- desk
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), during World War II. He is regarded as the founding father of the CIA, and a statue of him stands in the lobby of the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia.
A veteran of World War I, Donovan is believed to be the only person to have been awarded all four of the following decorations: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. He is also 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “William J. Donovan” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.