Attorney James Britt Donovan represented Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy, in court in 1957. And later, he was negotiating the exchange of Abel for the American Francis Gary Powers. This article tells the biography of James Donovan, a U.S. attorney and U.S. Navy officer.
Early years and career
James Donovan was born in February 1916 in the poorest area of New York - the Bronx. He was the youngest child in the family, his father John was an outstanding surgeon, and his mother Harriet was a professional pianist and music teacher. James graduated with honors from the All Hallows Institute, a Catholic boys' school, and enrolled at Ford University. In 1937 he graduated with a bachelor of arts. Initially, the young man was going to become a journalist, but at the insistence of his father decided to continue his studies at Harvard University, enrolling in the law faculty, where he subsequently received a bachelor of law in 1940.
After graduating from the University, Donovan worked in the Department of Research and Development and the Office of Strategic Services, receiving the rank of captain of the US Navy during World War II. He subsequently became assistant chief prosecutor of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, where he collected photographic evidence for use against Nazi officers accused of war crimes.
Upon returning to private practice, Donovan served as chief attorney in major litigations throughout America. In 1950, he became one of the founders of the law firm Watters & Donovan in the financial district of New York.
Spy court
In 1957, Donovan embarked on the British Bar Association to represent the interests of Rudolf Abel, a senior Soviet intelligence officer. Despite numerous evidence against his client, Donovan managed to avoid a death sentence, convincing that Abel could be useful for exchanging prisoners if an American of similar rank was captured by the Soviet Union. Subsequently, for his work, James Donovan received a medal from the CIA for his outstanding intelligence service.
End of career and death
After being appointed vice president of the New York City Department of Education in 1961, James Donovan ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 1962. In 1963, he was elected President of the Department of Education.
In 1968, Donovan was appointed president of the Brooklyn Pratt Institute, where he faced a huge number of conflicts, both between students and between teachers on the basis of civil rights and anti-war demonstrations.
James Donovan died of a heart attack in a Brooklyn Methodist hospital in January 1970.