1883 - 1959
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.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
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Among politicians, William J. Donovan ranks 11,987 out of 15,577. Before 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.
150 BC - 150 BC
HPI: 49.45
Rank: 11,981
1324 - 1371
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 11,982
1964 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 11,983
1953 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 11,984
1900 BC - Present
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,985
1905 - 1973
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,986
1883 - 1959
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,987
1872 - 1958
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,988
1650 BC - 1700 BC
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,989
1928 - 2010
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 11,990
700 - 725
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 11,991
550 BC - 498 BC
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 11,992
1920 - 1999
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 11,993
Among people born in 1883, William J. Donovan ranks 159. Before 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 108. Before 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.
1883 - 1963
HPI: 49.87
Rank: 153
1883 - 1935
HPI: 49.72
Rank: 154
1883 - 1946
HPI: 49.71
Rank: 155
1883 - 1970
HPI: 49.70
Rank: 156
1883 - 1940
HPI: 49.69
Rank: 157
1883 - 1957
HPI: 49.68
Rank: 158
1883 - 1959
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 159
1883 - 1934
HPI: 49.06
Rank: 160
1883 - 1933
HPI: 48.98
Rank: 161
1883 - 1955
HPI: 48.89
Rank: 162
1883 - 1949
HPI: 48.72
Rank: 163
1883 - 1939
HPI: 48.65
Rank: 164
1883 - 1964
HPI: 48.45
Rank: 165
1888 - 1959
HPI: 49.62
Rank: 102
1903 - 1959
HPI: 49.54
Rank: 103
1895 - 1959
HPI: 49.49
Rank: 104
1911 - 1959
HPI: 49.48
Rank: 105
1891 - 1959
HPI: 49.48
Rank: 106
1878 - 1959
HPI: 49.46
Rank: 107
1883 - 1959
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 108
1875 - 1959
HPI: 49.38
Rank: 109
1888 - 1959
HPI: 49.27
Rank: 110
1874 - 1959
HPI: 49.19
Rank: 111
1874 - 1959
HPI: 49.18
Rank: 112
1886 - 1959
HPI: 49.06
Rank: 113
1872 - 1959
HPI: 49.04
Rank: 114
Among people born in United States, William J. Donovan ranks 4,994 out of 18,182. Before 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).
1969 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 4,988
1968 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 4,989
1798 - 1877
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 4,990
1967 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 4,991
1960 - Present
HPI: 49.44
Rank: 4,992
1934 - Present
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,993
1883 - 1959
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,994
1921 - 2009
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,995
1956 - Present
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,996
1974 - Present
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,997
1977 - Present
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,998
1891 - 1975
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 4,999
1949 - Present
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 5,000
Among politicians born in United States, William J. Donovan ranks 317. Before 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).
1942 - 2015
HPI: 49.54
Rank: 311
1953 - Present
HPI: 49.54
Rank: 312
1938 - 2021
HPI: 49.53
Rank: 313
1904 - 1996
HPI: 49.53
Rank: 314
1840 - 1904
HPI: 49.51
Rank: 315
1930 - 2023
HPI: 49.49
Rank: 316
1883 - 1959
HPI: 49.43
Rank: 317
1915 - 1984
HPI: 49.42
Rank: 318
1915 - 2011
HPI: 49.39
Rank: 319
1788 - 1852
HPI: 49.34
Rank: 320
1826 - 1902
HPI: 49.30
Rank: 321
1943 - Present
HPI: 49.25
Rank: 322
1796 - 1859
HPI: 49.22
Rank: 323