Kingman Douglass (April 16, 1896 – October 8, 1971) was an American investment banker and a leading member of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

intelligence community. He was a deputy director of Central Intelligence from March 1946 to July 1946. Kingman Douglass was born April 16, 1896, in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

, the son of William Angus Douglass and Eliza Kingman. He was educated at

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

in Pottstown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(class of 1914) and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

(class of 1918). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Kingman Douglass served as a captain and pilot with the

91st Aero Squadron The 91st Aero Squadron was a unit of the Air Service, United States Army that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The 91st was one of the first five American flying squadrons to reach France, arriving at Chaumont Hill 402 Aerodrom ...

, the "Demon Chasers," engaged in aerial observation and photographic intelligence. Credited with three aerial victories, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) and commended for bravery in action. On December 16, 1922, Kingman Douglass married Helen Field James, the daughter of Howard James and Sophie Ayers. The couple had three sons: Abner Kingman Douglass, Howard James Douglass and William Angus Douglass. They were later divorced. Douglass was an investment banker for many years, a managing partner of

Dillon Read Dillon, Read & Co. was an investment bank based in New York City. In 1991, it was acquired by Barings Bank and, in 1997, it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation, which was in turn acquired by UBS in 1998. History Carpenter & Vermilye Dillon Rea ...

. Douglass returned to military service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

: as a member of the Eighth Air Force, he served as the senior

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

intelligence liaison officer assigned to the British Air Ministry and in the Allied Intelligence Group in the Pacific Theater. After the war, Douglass established the new

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, serving as its deputy director for a few months before returning to finance. Still, he returned to intelligence after a while: Douglass later served as Assistant Director of the CIA, from 1950 through July 1952. Kingman Douglass married

Adele Astaire Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville perfor ...

, daughter of Frederick E. Astaire, and sister of the celebrated

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Hollywood actor and dancer

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

, on April 29, 1947. For a time the Douglasses lived at Mount Gordon Farm in Middleburg, Virginia, where Adele was photographed for ''Life'' magazine in March 1961 (Life, 3/10/1961, p. 85). Douglass died at the

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The f ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on October 8, 1971, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglass, Kingman 1896 births 1971 deaths Deputy Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Oak Park, Illinois The Hill School alumni Military personnel from Illinois