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William J. Donovan

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Spy

The Resume

    (January 1, 1883-February 8, 1959)
    Born in Buffalo, New York
    Lawyer, soldier and intelligence officer
    Headed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II
    Called the 'Father of American Intelligence' and 'Father of Central Intelligence'
    Nicknamed 'Wild Bill'

Why he might be annoying:

    He spent his honeymoon touring Russia to collect intelligence.
    He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor and governor of New York.
    During a meeting with Mussolini, he congratulated Il Duce on his 'great victory' in crushing Ethiopia.
    He sometimes neglected basic intelligence gathering due to his fascination with spy gadgetry.
    He ignored orders from Generals Eisenhower and Marshall to stay in London during the D-Day invasion, hitched a ride to the Normandy beaches, and almost got captured by the Germans while touring the front.

Why he might not be annoying:

    During World War I, he earned two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor.
    He left his Medal of Honor at the armory of his regiment, the Fighting 69th, saying, 'It doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the boys who are not here, the boys who are resting under the white crosses in France or in the cemeteries of New York.'
    Six months before Pearl Harbor, he sent a memo to President Roosevelt advocating the creation of a central intelligence agency, warning 'Strategy, without information upon which it can rely, is helpless.'
    He received an honorary British knighthood for his WWII services.
    He served as a special assistant to the prosecutor at the post-war Nuremberg Military Tribunals.
    His daughter died in a car accident.
    President Eisenhower eulogized him as 'the last hero.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 27 Votes: 48.15% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 26 Votes: 26.92% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 56 Votes: 50.0% Annoying