There's no single "biggest" spy, but top contenders for influence and success include Richard Sorge, a Soviet agent in Japan who informed Stalin of Japan's non-invasion plans; Kim Philby, a British double agent who betrayed MI6 for the Soviets; and Aldrich Ames, a CIA officer who sold secrets leading to American agent executions. Other legends are double agent Juan Pujol (Garbo), crucial for D-Day deception, and female agents like SOE operative Virginia Hall, known for her bravery and impact in France.
However, certain secret agents stand out for their activities and contributions to history.
Aldrich Ames spent nearly a decade selling secret information to the Soviet Union, compromising more than 100 clandestine operations, and leading to the deaths of at least 10 Western intelligence assets. On 28 April 1994, the double agent was jailed for life.
Virginia Hall: The Most Feared Allied Spy of WWII. Learn how Virginia Hall, woman with a prosthetic leg, became the most feared allied spy in WWII. See how she eluded Nazi capture and aided in a victory at D-Day.
WW2 soldiers carried condoms primarily for disease prevention (STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea) and for practical combat uses, such as keeping sand and mud out of their rifle barrels, protecting small items, or even as makeshift waterproof bags, although the weapon-protection use is sometimes exaggerated in popular culture. The military distributed them widely (often in "prophylactic kits") to maintain troop strength, recognizing the significant manpower lost to venereal diseases in past conflicts.
Turncoat Who Helped the Soviets, Dies at 84. As chief of the counterintelligence branch of the C.I.A.'s Soviet division, he had access to some of the nation's deepest secrets. He had been serving a life sentence since 1994.
Robert Hanssen— FBI Agent Turned Spy
Using the code name “Ramon Garcia,” he began selling U.S. secrets to the Soviets in exchange for cash and diamonds. By the time of his arrest in 2001, Hanssen had received over $1.4 million in payments from the KGB/SVR.
World War Two's Most Glamorous Spy: Christine Granville, Winston Churchill's favorite agent, inspiration for the character Vesper in the James Bond novels. Christine Granville was a Polish beauty queen who became one of Britain's most valuable spies.
Audrey Hepburn: Spy for the Resistance. By 1944, Hepburn was working for Dr. Hendrik Visser 't Hooft, an anti-German leader, where she solidified her ties to the underground Resistance and doctors who helped forge identity papers.
Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local spies; (2) inward spies; (3) converted spies; (4) doomed spies; (5) surviving spies.
In Hollywood, Austrian-born Hedy Lamarr was promoted as “the most beautiful woman in films.” But during WWII, she and musician George Antheil patented a “Secret Communication System.” It sent messages between a radio transmitter and receiver over multiple frequencies using a random pattern.
The book covers the life of Russian engineer Adolf Tolkachev, nicknamed the "Billion Dollar Spy", who was executed by the Soviet Union after being caught passing information on classified radar technology to CIA agents.
1. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), USA. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is known as one of the most powerful spy agencies in the world. It helps the U.S. government make important decisions about foreign countries and defense by gathering and studying secret information related to national security.
After a ten-month investigation, Ames was arrested and confessed. He is serving a life sentence. Ames received $4.6 million in total for his spying.
Sandy Grimes is a former CIA Officer who co-investigated and uncovered the actions of notorious spy Aldrich Ames. She is a twenty-six-year veteran of CIA's Clandestine Service, who spent most of her career working against the former Soviet Union, supporting some of CIA's most valuable penetrations of the KGB and GRU.
Margaretha Zelle, known by the stage name Mata Hari is the epitome of femme fatale or as the French authorities hailed her “the greatest woman spy of the century”. She was a Dutch exotic dancer who was revered for her beauty and sensuality. In 1916, Zelle gave up on dancing and started working as a spy for France.
William J. Donovan, future founding father of the CIA, pictured as a 35-year-old Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Battalion, 165th Regiment, 42nd Division in Hazavant, France, on September 6, 1918.
The members of the ring were Donald Maclean (1913 - 1983), Guy Burgess (1911 - 1963), Harold 'Kim' Philby (1912 - 1988) and Anthony Blunt (1907 - 1983). Several other people have been suggested as belonging to the ring, including John Cairncross.
'Bad' girls have always known how to look after themselves. Barrier methods were always very popular. A halved, emptied lemon skin placed over the cervix worked well, for example, as did sponges soaked in natural spermicides such as vinegar.
The Bible literally has zero to say on condoms.
By the end of the war, approximately 7,000 of the 10,500 SIS staff were female. These women on the home front contributed to the Allied victory by successfully breaking codes and deciphering enemy messages. The women cryptologists were held to strict secrecy and would become one of the best-kept secrets of WWII.