LAWYER

James B. Donovan

1916 - 1970

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James Britt Donovan (February 29, 1916 – January 19, 1970) was an American lawyer and United States Navy officer in the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency), ultimately becoming General Counsel of the OSS, and an international diplomatic negotiator. Donovan is widely known for negotiating the 1960–1962 exchange of captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and American student Frederic Pryor for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, and for negotiating the 1962 release and return of 9,703 prisoners held by Cuba after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of James B. Donovan has received more than 4,063,384 page views. His biography is available in 17 different languages on Wikipedia. James B. Donovan is the 64th most popular lawyer (down from 26th in 2019), the 5,691st most popular biography from United States (down from 1,889th in 2019) and the 12th most popular American Lawyer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.1M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.53

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 17

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.82

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.03

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among LAWYERS

Among lawyers, James B. Donovan ranks 64 out of 136. Before him are Hisashi Owada, Hersch Lauterpacht, Louis Brandeis, Roy Cohn, René David, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.. After him are Abdulqawi Yusuf, William Rehnquist, John Selden, Koen Lenaerts, Navi Pillay, and Wendell Willkie.

Most Popular Lawyers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1916, James B. Donovan ranks 175. Before him are Adriana Caselotti, Eugene McCarthy, Jacob Talmon, Hidetoki Takahashi, Fernando Lamas, and Olga Lepeshinskaya. After him are Pruden, David White, Robert H. Dicke, Lou Thesz, Van Johnson, and Pierre Emmanuel. Among people deceased in 1970, James B. Donovan ranks 171. Before him are Anna Louise Strong, Jérôme Carcopino, Terry Sawchuk, Adhemar Pimenta, Conrad Nagel, and Rube Goldberg. After him are Vince Lombardi, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, Konstantinos Tsaldaris, Orhan Kemal, Pierre Mac Orlan, and Alfréd Rényi.

Others Born in 1916

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Others Deceased in 1970

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In United States

Among people born in United States, James B. Donovan ranks 5,691 out of 20,380. Before him are Adele Goldberg (1945), Eliza McCardle Johnson (1810), John C. Lilly (1915), Tommy Rettig (1941), Tony Joe White (1943), and Mike Stern (1953). After him are Eric Shinseki (1942), Sandra Bernhard (1955), Michael Spinks (1956), John Patrick Foley (1935), Otis Davis (1932), and George Calnan (1900).

Others born in United States

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Among LAWYERS In United States

Among lawyers born in United States, James B. Donovan ranks 12. Before him are Bill Gates Sr. (1925), Robert Bilott (1965), Paul Alexander (1946), Louis Brandeis (1856), Roy Cohn (1927), and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841). After him are William Rehnquist (1924), Wendell Willkie (1892), Lawrence Lessig (1961), Merrick Garland (1952), Michael Cohen (1966), and Clarence Darrow (1857).

American born Lawyers

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