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POLITICIAN

William J. Donovan

1883 - 1959

Photo of William J. Donovan

Icon of person William J. Donovan

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 decorated veteran of World War I, Donovan is believed to be the only person to have been awarded all four of the following prestigious decorations: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William J. Donovan has received more than 1,190,212 page views. His biography is available in 23 different languages on Wikipedia. William J. Donovan is the 11,987th most popular politician (down from 10,876th in 2019), the 4,994th most popular biography from United States (down from 4,623rd in 2019) and the 317th most popular American Politician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.43

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 23

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.72

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.60

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of William J. Donovans by language


Among POLITICIANS

Among politicians, William J. Donovan ranks 11,987 out of 15,577Before him are Gaius Sextius Calvinus, Adelaide of Hesse, Moussa Dadis Camara, Hamilton Mourão, Neferuptah, and Anton Ackermann. After him are Paul Reinecke, Sankhenre Sewadjtu, Tzannis Tzannetakis, Grimoald of Bavaria, Marcus Valerius Volusus, and Nilde Iotti.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1883, William J. Donovan ranks 159Before him are Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, Charles Demuth, Raimu, Rube Goldberg, Gheorghe Argeșanu, and Luigi Ganna. After him are Joachim Ringelnatz, Olaf Bull, Tom Moore, Émile Eddé, Ford Sterling, and Pentti Eskola. Among people deceased in 1959, William J. Donovan ranks 108Before him are Irving Cummings, Vincent Richards, Giuseppe Bottai, Mutara III Rudahigwa, Edmund Goulding, and Maxie Long. After him are William D. Leahy, Maxwell Anderson, Sténio Vincent, Fernand Bouisson, Alfonso López Pumarejo, and Johan Bojer.

Others Born in 1883

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Others Deceased in 1959

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In United States

Among people born in United States, William J. Donovan ranks 4,994 out of 18,182Before him are Jason Becker (1969), Emily Procter (1968), Charles Wilkes (1798), Steve Zahn (1967), David Baldacci (1960), and Lester R. Brown (1934). After him are Jack Kramer (1921), Keith David (1956), Misha Collins (1974), Ludacris (1977), George Marshall (1891), and Adrian Belew (1949).

Among POLITICIANS In United States

Among politicians born in United States, William J. Donovan ranks 317Before him are Fred Thompson (1942), Robert Zoellick (1953), Lester Bird (1938), Alger Hiss (1904), Chief Joseph (1840), and Sandra Day O'Connor (1930). After him are Kenneth Arnold (1915), Sargent Shriver (1915), Margaret Taylor (1788), Julia Grant (1826), Newt Gingrich (1943), and Horace Mann (1796).