William Joseph Donovan

William Joseph Donovan , 1883-1959, American lawyer, director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), b. Buffalo, N.Y. Distinguished service in World War I won him medals and the nickname Wild Bill Donovan. He was prominent in Republican politics and served (1925-29) in the office of the Attorney General. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent him on foreign missions, and in 1942 he was made head of the newly created OSS, which he made into a formidable and successful intelligence agency. Donovan, given the rank of major general, served until 1945, and later returned to public service as ambassador to Thailand (1953-54). His enthusiasm for covert operations and paramilitary interventions helped shape the psychology of the Central Intelligence Agency, which replaced the OSS as the premier U.S. intelligence agency in 1947.

Bibliography: See biographies by C. Ford (1970) and R. Dunlop (1982); R. H. Smith, OSS (1977).

Donovan, Maj-General William J. (1883–1959),head of the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an energetic and inspiring, if sometimes erratic, commander who earned the nicknames ‘Wild Bill’ and then ‘Big Bill’.

A lawyer by profession, Donovan finished the First World War as one of the two most decorated American officers ( MacArthur was the other). In July 1940, at the request of the head of British Security Co-ordination (BSC), William Stephenson, he was sent by Roosevelt to the UK where he was briefed on the functions of British clandestine and intelligence organizations, met Churchill, and was given a tour of airfields and military sites. His report helped convince Roosevelt that, despite the pessimistic reports emanating from the US ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy (1888–1969), the UK would not capitulate.

Though a Republican, Donovan became Roosevelt's Co-ordina tor of Information (COI) in July 1941, a first attempt by the Americans to centralize their espionage activities. In this capacity he liaised closely with BSC and established vital Anglo-American ties in security and intelligence matters. In 1942 the Office of COI became the OSS, the forerunner of today's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Donovan then reported to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Donovan, William J. (1883–1959) born in Buffalo, New York, U.S. intelligence official. “Wild Bill,” as he was known, was the World War II director of the American intelligence effort. He hoped to make the Office of Strategic Services a permanent agency, but President Harry S. Truman abolished the agency in October 1945. His plan for the OSS was eventually adapted as the blueprint for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Donovan, who saw considerable action in World War I, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the Medal of Honor. In 1957, he was awarded the National Security Medal, making him the first person to receive the four highest U.S. decorations.