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Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 - December 3, 1963) was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938-1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and bec...view moreElizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 - December 3, 1963) was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938-1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. in 1952. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for the Soviets. When her testimony became public in 1948, it became a media sensation and had a major impact on Soviet espionage cases of the 1950s.
Born in New Milford, Connecticut, to Charles Prentiss Bentley, a dry-goods merchant, and May Charlotte Turrill, a schoolteacher, Bentley graduated from Vassar College in 1930 with a degree in English, Italian, and French. In 1933, whilst attending graduate school at Columbia University, she won a fellowship to the University of Florence. While in Italy, she briefly joined a local student fascist group, the Gruppo Universitario Fascista; however, under the influence of her anti-Fascist faculty advisor (and lover) Mario Casella, Bentley soon moved to another part of the political spectrum. While completing her master’s degree at Columbia University, she attended meetings of the American League Against War and Fascism. Attracted by the sense of community and social conscience she found with her friends in the league, she joined the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) in March 1935.
After her defection from the Soviet Union on November 6, 1945, calls to give evidence before various bodies became a fixture in Bentley’s life for many years. Occasional consultations with the FBI continued for the rest of her life. In 1952, she became a paid informer for the FBI. A successful executive with a profitable shipping company whilst with the Communists, she subsequently earned a living first through secretarial work and then at a variety of teaching jobs.
Bentley died from abdominal cancer in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1963, aged 55.view less