February 8, 1959 (Sunday)
- William J. Donovan, director of the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, and one of the persons who helped organized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), died at Walter Reed Hospital. President Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, "What a man! We have lost the last hero!" A retired Army Major General, Donovan was the first person to hold the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal.
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