James Lea Cate (November 16, 1899 – November 1, 1981) was a professor of history at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, an intelligence officer in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

with the rank of major, and part of the Air Force Historical Division during

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 ...

. He authored at least two pieces of Air Force literature, one titled ''Origins of the Eighth Air Force: Plans, Organization, Doctrines'', the other titled ''History of the Twentieth Air Force: Genesis''. The former is 143 pages in length, while the latter is 298 pages. Both were classified at the time of their writing, but declassified in 1958. From 1945 to 1958, with former AAF lieutenant colonel Wesley Frank Craven, an historian with

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, Cate was managing editor of the seven-volume history of the AAF, '' The Army Air Forces in World War II''. After the bombing of Hiroshima, Cate, as historical officer of the

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

from June 1944, received a letter from President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

which provided a lengthy justification for the dropping of the first atomic bombs ever to be used in warfare,

Little Boy "Little Boy" was the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II, making it the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' p ...

and

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) is the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the fir ...

. He is the grandfather of cartoonist

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typi ...

External links

Air Force Historical Research Agency numbered USAF historical studies, including the two documents by Cate

Air Force Historical Research Agency

Guide to the James Lea Cate Papers 1925-1980
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Interview with grandson, Daniel Clowes from University of Chicago
1899 births 1981 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers American aviation writers University of Chicago faculty {{US-historian-stub