Key Events in CIA's History
1941 11 July President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints William J. Donovan as "Coordinator
of Information." Donovan was a prominent lawyer who won the Congressional Medal of Honor
as an Army colonel in World War I.
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1942 13 June President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a military order establishing the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and naming William J. Donovan as its Director. Donovan
remained a civilian until 24 March 1943, when he was appointed brigadier general. He
advanced to the rank of major general on 10 November 1944.
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19451 October President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order 9621 abolishes the OSS and
transfers its functions to the State and War Departments.
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194622 January President Truman signs a Presidential Directive establishing the Central
Intelligence Group to operate under the direction of the National Intelligence Authority.
Truman names the first Director of Central Intelligence, Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers,
USNR, who was sworn in on the following day.
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194718 September The National Security Act of 1947 establishes the National Security
Council and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to replace the National Intelligence
Authority and the Central Intelligence Group.
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194920 June The Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 provides special administrative
authorities and responsibilities for the Agency and the Director.
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19554 August President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill authorizing $46 million for
construction of a CIA Headquarters Building.
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195613 January President Eisenhower establishes the President's Board of Consultants on
Foreign Intelligence Activities, predecessor to the President's Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board.
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19593 November President Eisenhower presides at laying of cornerstone of CIA Headquarters
Building in Langley, Virginia.
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196117 April Invasion of Cuba by CIA-supported Cuban exiles at Bay of Pigs.
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20 September First employees move into CIA Headquarters from various offices in
Washington, D.C. area.
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196215-28 October The Cuban Missile Crisis, precipitated by the CIA discovery in Cuba of
Soviet-made nuclear missiles capable of reaching most of the United States.
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19754 January President Gerald R. Ford signs Executive Order 11828 creating the
Commission on CIA Activities within the United States. Chaired by Vice President Nelson
Rockefeller, the Commission submitted its report on CIA domestic activities to the
President on 6 June 1975.
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27 January The Senate establishes its Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations
With Respect to Intelligence Activities under the chairmanship of Senator Frank Church
(D-ID). The Church Committee investigated the nation's intelligence activities for 15
months and was disestablished upon submission of its final report to the public on 26
April 1976.
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19 February The House establishes its Select Com-mittee on Intelligence to investigate
allegations of "illegal or improper" activities of federal intelligence agencies. Its
first chairman, Representative Lucien Nedzi (D-MI), was later replaced by Representative
Otis G. Pike (D-NY). On 29 January 1976, two days before the Committee was scheduled to
conclude its activities, the House voted to withhold public dissemination of the
Committee's final report.
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197619 May The Senate establishes a permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the
chairmanship of Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) to carry out oversight of the nation's
intelligence organizations.
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197714 July The House of Representatives establishes a permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence. Chaired by Representative Edward P. Boland (D-MA), it differs from the SSCI
in that it has oversight jurisdiction over the CIA but shares with several other House
committees legislative oversight authority over all other intelligence agencies.
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4 August President Jimmy Carter announces reorganization of the Intelligence Community,
creating a high-level committee chaired by the DCI to set priorities for collecting and
producing intelligence, and giving the DCI full control of budget and operational tasking
of intelligence collection.
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197824 January President Carter signs Executive Order 12036, which reshapes the
intelligence structure and provides explicit guidance on all facets of intelligence
activities.
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198120 October President Reagan reconstitutes the President's Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board and names 19 distinguished citizens outside of government to serve on the
Board.
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4 December President Reagan signs Executive Order 12333, which clarifies ambiguities of
previous orders and sets clear goals for the Intelligence Community in accordance with
law and regard for the rights of Americans.
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198223 June President Reagan signs Public Law 97-200, the Intelligence Identities
Protection Act of 1982, imposing criminal penalties on those who reveal the names of
covert intelligence personnel.
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198415 October President Reagan signs the Central Intelligence Agency Information Act of
1984, which exempts the Agency from the search and review requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act with respect to operational and other sensitive files which cannot be
released because of operational or security considerations.
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19851 November Vice President Bush presides at the laying of the cornerstone for the
Headquarters Building Expansion.
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198727 May First annual memorial ceremony commemorates Agency employees who have died in
the line of duty.
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1991March The New Headquarters Building, attached to the Original Headquarters Building,
is completed and occupied.
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199218 December Berlin Wall Monument Dedication.
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19967 June Memorial Garden Dedication.
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