James Britt Donovan was an American lawyer and United States Navy officer in the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the Office of Strategic Services, 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 …
Oct 01, 2016 · For James B. Donovan, an Irish-American lawyer from New York who was recently played by award-winning actor Tom Hanks in the film Bridge of Spies, the opposite was in fact the case. His life was ultimately so seemingly fantastic that it would simply be impossible to depict in a single film. Nonetheless, the 2015 film Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg and …
Feb 09, 2010 · At the end of his 1957 trial, Rudolf Abel escaped the death penalty when his lawyer, James Donovan, convinced the federal judge that Abel might one day be used either as a source of intelligence ...
Fisher served just over four years of his sentence. On 10 February 1962, he was exchanged for the shot-down American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. The exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge that linked West Berlin with Potsdam, which became famous during the Cold War as the "Bridge of Spies".
James DonovanHe donated the entire sum to three universities (Strangers on a Bridge). Watch a newsreel that features James Donovan speaking about defending Rudolf Abel.
In 1968, Donovan was appointed president of Pratt Institute. He died of a heart attack on January 19, 1970, in Brooklyn's Methodist Hospital in New York, after being treated for influenza.
Deceased (1903–1971)Rudolf Abel / Living or Deceased
Donovan brought intelligence, integrity, and courage to bear on some of the seminal events of his time. He is perhaps best known for giving legal representation to an accused Soviet spy, a principled but unpopular act that would later allow him to bring off one of the most famous “spy swaps” in history.
Deceased (1916–1970)James Donovan / Living or Deceased
Bridge of Spies provides a reasonably accurate portrayal of the case, but its portrayal of the late 1950s—designed by Spielberg and a team of writers who include the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan—appeals more to the prejudices of our own time than it would the reality of the world back then.Oct 16, 2015
In the film, Abel's art is the emblem of his humanity. ... Abel heeds Donovan, ignoring a CIA functionary's command, and stays put until Pryor is freed. As Abel proceeds, he tells Donovan he earlier sent the lawyer a gift – a painting, which turns out to be a portrait of Donovan in the courtroom.Oct 19, 2015
Bridge of Spies Because the Glienicke Bridge was a restricted border crossing between the Eastern Bloc (namely Potsdam in East Germany) and territory affiliated with the Western powers (namely the American sector of West Berlin), the Americans and Soviets used it for the exchange of captured spies during the Cold War.
Gary Powers was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace in 1960, causing an international incident.Oct 21, 2020
insurance lawyerDefending an alleged Soviet spy wasn't a sought-after assignment in 1950s America. But the Brooklyn Bar Association knew just the man for the job: James B. Donovan. Donovan was an insurance lawyer who'd worked for the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner to the CIA) during World War II.Jun 11, 2020
He served just over four years of his sentence before he was exchanged for captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. Back in the Soviet Union, he lectured on his experiences. He died in 1971 at the age of 68.
In 1977 he died in the crash of a helicopter that he flew as a reporter for a Los Angeles television station.
On June 21, 1957, he was arrested by the FBI, and on October 25, 1957, a federal district court in Brooklyn found him guilty of espionage, relying in part on testimony by Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Reino Hayhanen, who had defected to the West and who stated that he had been Abel's chief coconspirator in the United ...
Ethan CoenJoel CoenMatt CharmanBridge of Spies/Screenplay
The Attorney General seeks to swap Abel for an American graduate student named Frederic Pryor, who had been arrested in East Germany; in the process the GDR hopes to gain official recognition by the United States. The CIA wants Donovan to disregard Pryor but he insists that both Pryor and Powers be swapped for Abel.
In 1962, with the backing of President John F. Kennedy '40, Donovan traveled to East Berlin to negotiate a swap: Abel for American spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers, imprisoned in the USSR.Mar 29, 2016
Bridge of Spies, Steven Spielberg's latest movie, was filmed mostly on location in New York and Berlin (with some scenes filmed in Poland). The catch? It takes place during the Cold War. Locations throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan were transformed into the New York of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
65 years (July 17, 1956)Jim Donovan / Age
In 1957, during the Cold War, the insurance lawyer James B. Donovan is assigned by the Bar association to defend in court the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, who was captured by the FBI.
Abel ends up at a park where he sits on a bench to paint. He recovers a coin under a bench. He returns to his apartment and uses a razor to split the coin open, where he finds that it contains a piece of paper. Soon, Blasco and Gamber, joined by other FBI agents, storm into Abel's home and arrest him for espionage.
He retrieves a hollow nickel from under the park bench. Abel sits on a park bench with a view of the East River and proceeds to paint.Dec 3, 2021
Mark RylanceMark Rylance, arguably the greatest stage actor of his generation, already has three Tonys, two Olivier awards and a TV Bafta to his name. But he remains modest about the Oscar buzz around his latest film role as a Soviet agent in Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies.Nov 26, 2015
0:542:34Bridge of spies - "Would it help?" quote - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAll right you don't seem alarmed. Would it help how did we do in there.MoreAll right you don't seem alarmed. Would it help how did we do in there.
Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War is a 2010 nonfiction book by Giles Whittell. The book documents prisoner exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union of their spies during the Cold War.
2h 22mBridge of Spies / Running time
The first bridge built across the Havel River was wooden, it was constructed in 1660, but by the early 1800s, a new bridge was needed to accommodate the massive increase in traffic between Berlin and Potsdam. The architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a brick and wood bascule bridge, which was finished in 1834.Feb 25, 2016
actor Sebastian KochIn the 2015 film Bridge of Spies by Steven Spielberg, Vogel has a significant role in the plot. He is played by actor Sebastian Koch.
Mr. Vogel's first spy-swapping case began in 1959, when he represented an East German woman who said she was the wife of Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, a convicted Soviet master spy imprisoned in the United States. Three years later, negotiations resulted in the exchange of Mr.Aug 22, 2008
James Britt Donovan was born into an Irish American family on February 29, 1916, in the Bronx. He was the son of Harriet (née O'Connor), a piano teacher, and John J. Donovan, a surgeon. His brother was New York state senator John J. Donovan Jr. Both sides of the family were of Irish descent.
James B. Donovan. 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, ...
In October 2016, Fordham University inducted Donovan into its Hall of Honor in conjunction with its Dodransbicentennial, the 175th anniversary of the school, in a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was also named a founder of the school. Fordham was founded by Archbishop Hughes, who is an ancestor of Donovan. Also in October 2016, Donovan was inducted into the All Hallows School Hall of Fame.
He wanted to become a journalist but his father convinced him to study law at Harvard Law School, beginning in autumn of 1937, where he completed his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1940. After graduating from law school, Donovan started work at a private lawyer's office.
In 1957, Donovan defended the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in what was known as the Hollow Nickel Case after many other lawyers refused. He later brought in Thomas M. Debevoise to assist him. Abel was convicted at trial, but Donovan was successful in persuading the court not to impose a death sentence. He appealed Abel's case to the Supreme Court, which in Abel v. United States was rejected by a 5–4 vote. Donovan 's argument that evidence used against his client had been seized by the FBI in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren praised him and publicly expressed the "gratitude of the entire court" for his taking the case.
In 1941, Donovan married Mary E. McKenna, who was also an Irish American. The couple had a son and three daughters, and lived in Brooklyn, New York, while also maintaining seasonal residences in Spring Lake on the Jersey Shore, New Jersey, and Lake Placid, New York State, where Donovan is buried alongside his wife and daughter.
The story of the Abel trial and defense, followed by the negotiation and prisoner exchange, was the basis for the book Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers, written by Donovan and ghost writer Bard Lindeman, which was published in 1964.
For James B. Donovan, an Irish-American lawyer from New York who was recently played by award-winning actor Tom Hanks in the film Bridge of Spies, the opposite was in fact the case. His life was ultimately so seemingly fantastic that it would simply be impossible to depict in a single film. Nonetheless, the 2015 film Bridge ...
Nonetheless, the 2015 film Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Matt Charman and brothers Ethan and Joel Coen , has succeeded in depicting at least one epoch in the fascinating and inspiring life that Donovan led. The film – which took in $165 million at the box office, and racked up Golden Globe and Oscar nominations ...
Donovan became an assistant to Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, from 1945 to 1949. In his capacity as a lawyer who needed to show the extent of what the Nazis had done, he collaborated with several directors in order to produce some rather harrowing documentaries which would serve as video ...
The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured and tried in Moscow as an enemy agent, and sentenced to three years imprisonment and seven years in a labor camp. Powers was in prison from September 9, 1960 until February 8, 1962 when the CIA opted to use Abel as a bargaining chip.
The Irish American New York lawyer who defended a Russian spy, and negotiated on behalf of the thousands of prisoners captured after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, is remembered by his daughter Jan.
He served as a case officer for the "Volunteer" spy network, which was tasked with relaying atomic secrets , and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1949.
Early Years and Career. Rudolf Abel was born William August Fisher on July 11, 1903, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. His parents Heinrich and Lyubov were Bolshevik supporters from Russia, and young Fisher helped his father by distributing "Hands Off Russia" literature during World War I. Following his family's return to Russia in 1921, ...
Rudolf Abel was born William Fisher in England in 1903. Operating as a Soviet spy in New York City, he was imprisoned for espionage following a high-profile trial in 1957. In 1962, he was released to the Soviet Union in exchange for captured U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers. The longtime intelligence operative died in Moscow in 1971, ...
Embassy in Paris and revealed his secrets. Thanks to information offered by Häyhänen, Fisher was tracked down and arrested at the Latham Hotel in Manhattan.
The Steven Spielberg -helmed flick starred Tom Hanks as Donovan, with British actor Mark Rylance taking on the role of the mysterious Soviet spy.
William Randolph Hearst. William Randolph Hearst is best known for publishing the largest chain of American newspapers in the late 19th century , and particularly for sensational "yellow journalism.". (1863–1951) Person.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the first president of the Soviet Union, serving from 1990 to 1991. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his leadership role in ending the Cold War and promoting peaceful international relations.
On February 10, 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier.
The two men were brought to separate sides of the Glienicker Bridge, which connects East and West Berlin across Lake Wannsee. As the spies waited, negotiators talked in the center of the bridge where a white line divided East from West.
Fisher was born William August Fisher on 11 July 1903, in the Benwell area of Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Heinrich and Lyubov Fisher. Revolutionaries of the Tsarist era, his father was of German origins and his mother was of Russian descent. Fisher's father, a revolutionary activist, taught and agitated with Vladimir Lenin at Saint Petersburg Technological Institute. In 1896 he was arrested for sedition and sentenced to three years internal exile. As Heinrich Fisher had served a sentence for offenses against the Russian Imperial Crown, he was forced to flee to the United Kingdom in 1901, the alternative being deportation to Germany or imprisonment in Russia for avoidance of military service. While living in the United Kingdom, Fisher's father, a keen Bolshevik, took part in gunrunning, shipping arms from the northeast coast to the Baltic countries.
Rudolf Ivanovich Abel ( Russian: Рудольф Иванович Абель ), real name William August Fisher (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), was a Soviet intelligence officer. He adopted his alias when arrested on charges of conspiracy by the FBI in 1957. Fisher was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England in ...
Soviet Cold War spy. (1948–1957) Rudolf Ivanovich Abel ( Russian: Рудольф Иванович Абель ), real name William August Fisher (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), was a Soviet intelligence officer. He adopted his alias when arrested on charges of conspiracy by the FBI in 1957. Fisher was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North ...
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
KGB. KGB, foreign intelligence and domestic security agency of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet era the KGB’s responsibilities also included the protection of the country’s political leadership, the supervision of border troops, and the general surveillance of the population.…. shortwave radio.
Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison after his U-2 plane was shot down over Russia in May 1960. But on Saturday the former US Air Force captain, 32, walked into West Berlin across a bridge separating the city's east and western sectors. At the same time Russian spy Colonel Rudolph Abel crossed in the opposite direction.
He was killed in a helicopter crash in 1977 and is buried in the military cemetery at Arlington in Virginia, USA. In 2000 after a campaign by his family, he was posthumously honoured by the US Air Force on the 40th anniversary of his plane being shot down.