Famous Spies - List of Famous Spies
When we talk of spies, one of the first names that come to mind is that of Mata Hari, the exotic dancer and high class prostitute in Paris who spied for Germany during World War I. However not many spies--people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations—are as glamorous as she was. Sir Francis Walsingham, the principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England who lived centuries before Mata Hari is believed to be the spymaster who developed several of the modern espionage methods. The 19th century spy Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky was chief of Okhrana, the secret service in Imperial Russia who achieved considerable success in controlling Russia’s growing revolutionary movement by way of his political operations. Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst turned spy Aldrich Hazen Ames compromised a large number of CIA agents—second only to those betrayed by Robert Hanssen, who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States for 22 years. Former intelligence analyst for the United States government Jonathan Jay Pollard spied for and provided top-secret classified information to Israel. This section provides you information about the life and works of famous spies from all over the world.
The Most Famous Spies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Birthday | Nationality | Bio |
| Nathan Hale | June 6, 1755 | American | Nathan Hale was an American patriot and martyr who fought for the Continental Army during the American War of Independence |
| Hiroo Onoda | March 19, 1922 | Japanese | Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer |
| Aldrich Ames | May 26, 1941 | American | Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former CIA officer, who was convicted of espionage against his own country in 1994 |
| Virginia Hall | April 6, 1906 | American | Virginia Hall Goillot was an American spy and most wanted by the ‘Geheime Staatspolizei’ (Gestapo), the official secret police of Nazis |
| John André | May 2, 1750 | British | John André was a British Army officer who was tried and executed for his espionage by the ‘Continental Army’ at the time of the ‘American War of Independence’ |
| Clyde Tolson | May 22, 1900 | American | Clyde Tolson was an American secret service agent and the first Associate Director of the FBI who was in office for over four decades |
| Robert Hanssen | April 18, 1944 | American | Robert Philip Hanssen is a former ‘Federal Bureau of Investigation’ (FBI) agent, who became infamous as a notorious double agent of the intelligence services of Soviet Union and later Russia. |
| Klaus Fuchs | December 29, 1911 | German | Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and an atomic spy who provided valuable information to the Soviet Union |
| Mata Hari | August 7, 1876 | Dutch | Mata Hari was a dancer, courtesan and a spy, who was executed in France on charges of espionage |
| Peggy Shippen | July 11, 1760 | American | Peggy Shippen was a notorious spy who along with her husband Benedict Arnold conspired against the Americans |
Hiroo Onoda
Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer
Robert Hanssen
Robert Philip Hanssen is a former ‘Federal Bureau of Investigation’ (FBI) agent, who became infamous as a notorious double agent of the intelligence services of Soviet Union and later Russia.
George Koval
George Abramovich Koval was an American born Jew, who served the Soviet military intelligence as an agent during the ‘Second World War’
Belle Boyd
Isabella Maria Boyd renowned as Belle Boyd was one of the most notorious Confederate spies during the ‘American Civil War’
John André
John André was a British Army officer who was tried and executed for his espionage by the ‘Continental Army’ at the time of the ‘American War of Independence’
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former CIA officer, who was convicted of espionage against his own country in 1994
Virginia Hall
Virginia Hall Goillot was an American spy and most wanted by the ‘Geheime Staatspolizei’ (Gestapo), the official secret police of Nazis
Klaus Fuchs
Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and an atomic spy who provided valuable information to the Soviet Union
James Armistead Lafayette
James Armistead Lafayette was an African-American slave who worked for the ‘American Continental Army’ during the Revolutionary War of America as a spy
George Reginald Starr
George Reginald Starr was a British mining engineer who served as one of SOE’s best wartime agents during World War II