Alger Hiss
A high-ranking U.S. official whose conviction for perjury in a Soviet spy case became a defining political drama of the early Cold War.
1904–1996 (age 92)·American diplomat and accused Soviet spy·Birthday: November 11·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Alger Hiss's life is a stark American parable of ascent and ruin, set against the paranoid backdrop of the Cold War. A brilliant and well-connected Harvard Law graduate, he moved seamlessly into the heart of the Washington establishment, serving in the State Department and playing a key role in the 1945 Yalta Conference and the founding of the United Nations. His impeccable credentials made the accusations leveled by Whittaker Chambers in 1948 all the more explosive: Chambers, a former communist courier, claimed Hiss had been a Soviet spy in the 1930s. The resulting trials were a national spectacle, pitting Hiss's aristocratic demeanor against Chambers's gritty testimony. Though the statute of limitations for espionage had passed, Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 and served nearly four years in prison. He maintained his innocence until his death, and the case never lost its power to divide historians and the public, remaining a foundational rift in 20th-century American political culture.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Alger was born in 1904, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alger Was Born
The biggest hits of 1904
Alger's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1904Born
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Started school
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1917Became a teenager
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1920Could drive
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1922Could vote
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1925Turned 21
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1934Turned 30
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1944Turned 40
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 50
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 60
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 70
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Turned 80
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1996Died at 92
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
Key Achievements
- Served as a senior U.S. State Department official during the Roosevelt administration and at the pivotal Yalta Conference in 1945.
- Played a significant administrative role in the founding of the United Nations, serving as temporary secretary-general of its first general assembly.
- His perjury conviction in 1950 became one of the most controversial and debated legal verdicts of the Cold War era.
Did You Know?
His younger brother, Donald, also worked for the State Department and was forced to resign due to the scandal.
After prison, he was disbarred as a lawyer but found work as a stationery salesman before returning to public speaking and writing.
Key figures in the case against him included a young California congressman named Richard Nixon.
In 1975, he was readmitted to the Massachusetts bar, 25 years after his conviction.
“I am confident that in the future the full facts of how Whittaker Chambers was able to carry out forgery by typewriter will be disclosed.”
