Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher King
Bust of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, is often referred to as the…
Socrates: The Soldier-Philosopher
“Alcibiades Receiving Instruction from Socrates”, a 1776 painting by François-André Vincent, depicting Socrates’s daimon. Socrates, born around 470 BC in…
James Bond: A Mirror of His Times
Bronze bust of the author Ian Fleming by the British sculptor Anthony Smith. Commissioned by the Fleming family to commemorate…
Somerset Maugham: Celebrated British Writer and Spy
Photo of Maugham by Carl Van Vechten, 1934. Photo cropped. Library of Congress. William Somerset Maugham, known as Somerset Maugham,…
Agent Zigzag: The Enigmatic Eddie Chapman
Eddie Chapman beside his Rolls Royce. Source: MI5 – UK National Archive declassified documents (over 50 years). Edward Arnold Chapman, known…
From Countess to Spy: The Story of Krystyna Skarbek
Maquisards (Resistance fighters) in the vicinity of Savournon, Hautes-Alpes in August 1944. SOE agents are second from right, Krystyna Skarbek,…
Ian Fleming, James Bond and the CIA
Bronze bust of the author Ian Fleming by the British sculptor Anthony Smith. Commissioned by the Fleming family to commemorate…
Lucien Conein: From OSS to CIA
Lucien Conein with South Vietnamese general involved in 1963 coup against Diệm, Lucien Emile “Lou” Conein was born on November…
Mansfield George Smith-Cumming: The Man Behind the Birth of MI6
Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming KCMG CB, born on April 1, 1859, was a British naval officer who served as…
Peter J. Ortiz: A Hero in War and on Screen
Peter J. Ortiz. Peter Julien Ortiz, born on July 5, 1913, in New York City, was the son of a…