Knowledge Tree
William Joseph Donovan
Also known as: William Joseph Donovan, William Donovan
Facts (10)
Sources
The Evolution of the U.S. Intelligence Community-An Historical ... govinfo.gov 7 facts
accountWilliam Donovan created a special staff to analyze national security information and an eight-member review board drawn from academia to test conclusions, modeling his approach on the British intelligence system.
claimIn July 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed William Donovan as the Coordinator of Information to establish a non-military intelligence organization.
accountWilliam Donovan was a veteran of World War I and an aficionado of intelligence who was sent by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Europe in 1940 to assess the stability of Britain and in the spring of 1941 to gather information on Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
claimWilliam Donovan began campaigning in 1944 for a peacetime successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) that would be a civilian organization directly responsible to the President.
accountFollowing World War II, a debate occurred regarding the future of intelligence organizations between those supporting William Donovan's proposal for an independent, civilian intelligence organization reporting to the President and those favoring military control of intelligence.
accountWilliam Donovan and the Librarian of Congress organized the Division of Special Information at the Library of Congress to coordinate scholarship and provide unclassified information to Donovan's analytical staff.
claimWilliam Donovan led the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) following its reorganization from the Coordinator of Information.
History of the Central Intelligence Agency - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
accountOn November 18, 1944, General William Joseph Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), proposed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt the establishment of a peacetime foreign intelligence service that would obtain intelligence through overt and covert means, provide strategic guidance, determine national intelligence objectives, and coordinate information collected by all government agencies.
claimGeneral William Joseph Donovan's proposal for a peacetime intelligence service was prompted by a query from General Dwight Eisenhower's Chief of Staff regarding the role of the Office of Strategic Services within the military establishment.
accountFollowing the proposal by William Joseph Donovan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered his chief military aide to conduct a secret investigation and report on the World War II operations of the Office of Strategic Services.