How do you restore a friendship with one of the most feared men in America? For the British, following an embarrassing 1950s atomic spy scandal, it was to give FBI director J. Edgar Hoover a knighthood. But all did not go smoothly, and Hoover drove a hard bargain to restore the ‘special relationship’.
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers ‘Zero Night’ and ‘Castle of the Eagles’, both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Felton
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Primary Source: ‘MI5 pushed to list FBI director J Edgar Hoover as ‘honorary knight’, by John Paul Rathbone, The Financial Times, January 14, 2025
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress
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They should have bought Hoover a nice frock. Just as much appreciated and a lot cheaper.
Perhaps it's just my ignorance; however, why would any American Citizen desire, or accept, an Honorary British Knighthood? This is certainly no insult to Britain, but our Country has been made up of people with many different ethnic backgrounds for over 170 years. Mr. Hoover and his ego, I would say, were beyond peculiar.
Surely they knew her name was Mary
Bill Gates humanitarian work 🤣🤣🤣
I LOVE JEWISH SPIES
Off topic, but I distinctly remember getting into trouble at school for referring to the “Texas Book Depisitory”, instead of the correct “Texas School Book Repository”. Am I going mad? It really feels like “Repository” has been “oublietted” like in 1984.
I wonder how it would have worked out if the British government had instead bought Edgar a new frock? Illegal wiretaps, break-ins, accepting financial favors, violation of civil rights, political blackmail, all began under Hoover. Where are Hoover’s secret hoard of incriminating files?
Haha choosing Spacey and Guiliani was brutal 😂
Thanks for sharing 👍🏻 😊🎉😊
If I may ask professor, why do you think that so many people in the upper echelons of Britain were spies for the Russian? It always struck me as weird that so many universities educated Britains were and are eager to destroy their country.
Hoover….narcissist
I'm so using that phase at the first opportunity 😂 I think we all know which one 😂
Bob Geldorf????
Out Foxed.
Am sorry but was it not mainly Jewish Americans who spied more to pass secrets onto the Soviet Union , hmmmmmmm Hiw can you really trust a G.E.W
Thank you for this post, most revealing.
I detest traitors and can you imagine how Hoover would deal with this invitation to the young men of the world to our country when they have zero identification or reason to seek asylum especially when one looks at the country’s they hail from… smh
he was gay.
Hoover was an arrogant, nasty, slimy individual. I think he did as much damage to the US as he did good.
He was Churchill's Nephew.