William Egan COLBY

Background

COLBY, William was born on January 4, 1920 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Son of Elbridge and Margaret Colby (nee Egan).

Education

Princeton and Columbia Universities.

Career

Served to rank of Major, United States Army 1941-1945. Admitted to New York State Bar 1947, District of Colombia Bar 1976. Attorney Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine 1947-1949, Counsel since 1987.

Attorney National Labor Relations Board 1949-1950.

Attache, American Embassy, Stockholm 1951-1953, Rome 1953-1958, First Secretary, Saigon 1959-1962. Head, Far East Division, Central Intelligence Agency 1963-1967.

Ambassador, Director Civil Operations and Rural Development Support, Saigon 1968-1971. Executive Director Central Intelligence Agency 1972-1973, Director September 1973-1976.

Law and consultancy practice, Washington, District of Columbia 1976-1986.

Silver Star National Security.

Achievements

• William E. Colby was the most controversial director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was thought to have damaged the CIA's reputation by cooperating with congressional investigations and disclosing information many felt should have remained covered, in order to pacify critics of the agency.
  
  Colby was the subject of a biography, Lost Crusader, by John Prados, published in 2003. His son, Carl Colby, released a documentary on his father's professional and personal life, The Man Nobody Knew, in 2011.
  
  Norwich University hosts an annual writers symposium named in his honor.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA
  • The Ultimate Spy Book
  • Lost Victory: A Firsthand Account of America's Sixteen-Year Involvement in Vietnam by William Colby (1989-10-03)

Connections

Married 1st Barbara Heinzen in 1945, three son one daughter. Married 2nd Sally Shelton in 1984.

Father:

Elbridge

Mother:

Margaret Colby (nee Egan)

Spouse:

Barbara Heinzen

Spouse:

Sally Shelton

References

• Shadow Warrior: William Egan Colby and the CIA
• Lost Victory: A Firsthand Account of America's Sixteen-Year Involvement in Vietnam
• Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan
• Tippecanoe And Colby Too: The Murder Of A CIA Director
• Lost Crusader: The Secret Wars of CIA Director William Colby
• William Colby and the CIA: The Secret Wars of a Controversial Spymaster