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

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Nathan HaleJune 6, 1755AmericanNathan Hale was an American patriot and martyr who fought for the Continental Army during the American War of Independence
Hiroo OnodaMarch 19, 1922JapaneseHiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer
Aldrich AmesMay 26, 1941AmericanAldrich Hazen Ames is a former CIA officer, who was convicted of espionage against his own country in 1994
Virginia HallApril 6, 1906AmericanVirginia Hall Goillot was an American spy and most wanted by the ‘Geheime Staatspolizei’ (Gestapo), the official secret police of Nazis
John AndréMay 2, 1750BritishJohn 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 TolsonMay 22, 1900AmericanClyde Tolson was an American secret service agent and the first Associate Director of the FBI who was in office for over four decades
Robert HanssenApril 18, 1944AmericanRobert 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 FuchsDecember 29, 1911GermanEmil Julius Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and an atomic spy who provided valuable information to the Soviet Union
Mata HariAugust 7, 1876DutchMata Hari was a dancer, courtesan and a spy, who was executed in France on charges of espionage
Peggy ShippenJuly 11, 1760AmericanPeggy Shippen was a notorious spy who along with her husband Benedict Arnold conspired against the Americans
Hiroo Onoda

Hiroo Onoda

Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer

JapaneseMarch 19, 1922393 views

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.

AmericanApril 18, 1944250 views

George Koval

George Abramovich Koval was an American born Jew, who served the Soviet military intelligence as an agent during the ‘Second World War’

RussianDecember 25, 1913113 views

Belle Boyd

Isabella Maria Boyd renowned as Belle Boyd was one of the most notorious Confederate spies during the ‘American Civil War’

AmericanMay 9, 1844155 views

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’

BritishMay 2, 1750320 views

Aldrich Ames

Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former CIA officer, who was convicted of espionage against his own country in 1994

AmericanMay 26, 1941369 views

Virginia Hall

Virginia Hall Goillot was an American spy and most wanted by the ‘Geheime Staatspolizei’ (Gestapo), the official secret police of Nazis

AmericanApril 6, 1906322 views

Klaus Fuchs

Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and an atomic spy who provided valuable information to the Soviet Union

GermanDecember 29, 1911194 views

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

AmericanDecember 10, 1760112 views

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

BritishApril 6, 1904136 views