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Military & National Security
22 people
Henry H. "Hap" Arnold 1886–1950Government & PoliticsCommanding general of the Army Air Forces who built American air power during World War II and helped lay the foundation for the Air Force.Omar Bradley 1893–1981Government & PoliticsSenior World War II commander and first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan 1883–1959Government & PoliticsFounder and director of the OSS whose wartime organization became a principal institutional predecessor of the CIA.Allen Dulles 1893–1969Government & PoliticsLongest-serving CIA director who built the agency's covert operations capacity during the early Cold War.David Farragut 1801–1870Government & PoliticsThe U.S. Navy's first admiral, whose victories at New Orleans and Mobile Bay were decisive in the Civil War.Nathanael Greene 1742–1786Government & PoliticsContinental Army general whose Southern Campaign strategy helped exhaust British forces and secure American independence.John Paul Jones 1747–1792Government & PoliticsContinental Navy captain whose Revolutionary War victories established early American naval tradition.Robert E. Lee 1807–1870Government & PoliticsConfederate commander whose military reputation and later commemoration became central to Civil War memory and the Lost Cause.Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964Government & PoliticsCommander who led major Pacific campaigns, oversaw Japan’s occupation, and became central to the Korean War controversy.George C. Marshall 1880–1959Government & PoliticsArmy chief of staff who organized U.S. victory in World War II and later designed the Marshall Plan.Robert McNamara 1916–2009Government & PoliticsSecretary of Defense who applied systems analysis to the Pentagon and escalated the Vietnam War.George G. Meade 1815–1872Government & PoliticsUnion general whose command victory at Gettysburg marked a turning point in the Civil War.Audie Murphy 1925–1971Government & PoliticsMost decorated American soldier of World War II who later became a film actor.Chester W. Nimitz 1885–1966Government & PoliticsFleet admiral who directed U.S. naval strategy in the Pacific during World War II.George S. Patton 1885–1945Government & PoliticsArmored commander whose aggressive leadership made him one of the most prominent American generals of World War II.John J. Pershing 1860–1948Government & PoliticsCommander of the American Expeditionary Forces who built and led the U.S. Army in World War I.Colin Powell 1937–2021Government & PoliticsGeneral, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and secretary of state who shaped post-Cold War military and diplomatic policy.Hyman G. Rickover 1900–1986Government & PoliticsArchitect of the nuclear Navy who transformed submarine propulsion, naval engineering, and military management.Matthew Ridgway 1895–1993Government & PoliticsArmy commander credited with restoring U.N. forces in Korea and later serving as NATO supreme commander and Army chief of staff.Donald Rumsfeld 1932–2021Government & PoliticsTwice Secretary of Defense who directed the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and pushed military restructuring.Winfield Scott 1786–1866Government & PoliticsCommanding general whose long career, Mexico City campaign, and Anaconda Plan shaped nineteenth-century U.S. military strategy.William Tecumseh Sherman 1820–1891Government & PoliticsUnion general whose campaigns through Georgia and the Carolinas helped destroy the Confederacy’s capacity to wage war.