Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar

Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar
born Jan. 1, 1895, Washington, D.C., U.S.
died May 2, 1972, Washington, D.C.

U.S. director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

He entered the Department of Justice as a file reviewer in 1917; two years later, as special assistant to Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, he helped in the roundup and deportation of suspected Bolsheviks. In 1924 he was named director of the Bureau of Investigation, which he remade into a professional, merit-based organization. In the 1930s he successfully publicized the FBI's success in tracking down and capturing well-known criminals. During this time, both the FBI's size and its responsibilities grew steadily. In the late 1930s Hoover received authorization to investigate foreign espionage in the U.S. and the activities of communists and fascists alike. When the Cold War began in the late 1940s, the FBI undertook intensive surveillance of communists and other left-wing activists in the U.S. Hoover's animus toward radicals of every kind led him to investigate both the Ku Klux Klan and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as other African American activists in the 1960s. At the same time, he maintained a hands-off policy toward the Mafia, which was allowed to conduct its operations nationwide practically free of FBI scrutiny or interference. Hoover habitually used the FBI's enormous surveillance and information-gathering powers to collect damaging information on politicians throughout the country, and apparently he was able to intimidate even sitting presidents by threatening to leak damaging disclosures about them. He retained his post for 48 years, until his death.

J. Edgar Hoover

AP/Wide World Photos

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Hoover, J(ohn)Edgar — Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar. 1895 1972. American director of the FBI (1924 1972). He is remembered for fighting gangsterism during the Prohibition era (1919 1933) and for a vigorous anti Communist campaign after World War II. * * * …   Universalium

  • Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar — (1 ene. 1895, Washington, D.C., EE.UU.–2 may. 1972, Washington, D.C.). Estadounidense, director de la FBI (Oficina federal de investigaciones). Entró al Departamento de Justicia en 1917, como inspector de archivos; dos años más tarde, en su… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Edgar — Ópera de Giacomo Puccini. Estrenada el 21 de abril de 1889 en el Teatro La Scala de Milán. Continuaron representaciones en el Teatro Comunale de Ferrara (1892), en el Teatro Real de Madrid (1892) y en el Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires (1905). * * * …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hoover — Hoover1 [ho͞o′vər] trademark for a vacuum cleaner n. [h ] Brit. any vacuum cleaner vt., vi. [h ] Brit. to clean with a vacuum cleaner; vacuum Hoover2 [ho͞o′vər] 1. Herbert (Clark) 1874 1964; 31st president of the U.S. (1929 33) 2. J(ohn) Edgar… …   English World dictionary

  • Hoover — /hooh veuhr/, n. 1. Herbert (Clark), 1874 1964, 31st president of the U.S. 1929 33. 2. J(ohn) Edgar, 1895 1972, U.S. government official: director of the FBI 1924 72. 3. a town in N central Alabama. 15,064. * * * (as used in expressions) Hoover… …   Universalium

  • Hoover — I. biographical name Herbert Clark 1874 1964 31st president of the United States (1929 33) II. biographical name J(ohn) Edgar 1895 1972 American criminologist; F.B.I. director (1924 72) III. geographical name city central Alabama population… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Hoover — Hoo•ver [[t]ˈhu vər[/t]] n. 1) big Herbert (Clark), 1874–1964, 31st president of the U.S. 1929–33 2) big J(ohn) Edgar, 1895–1972, director of the U.S. FBI 1924–72 …   From formal English to slang

  • Hoover — /ˈhuvə/ (say hoohvuh) noun 1. Herbert Clark, 1874–1964, US Republican politician; 31st president of the US 1929–33. 2. J(ohn) Edgar, 1895–1972, US lawyer; director of the FBI 1924–72 …  

  • John — (as used in expressions) Abbot, Sir John (Joseph Caldwell) Acton (de Aldenham), John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton, 1 barón Adams, John Adams, John (Coolidge) Adams, John Quincy Alden, John Altgeld, John Peter André, John Arden, John Ashbery,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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