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Born
Kim Philby was born in Ambala, India to St. John Philby and Dora Philby -
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Early Life
Kim Philby was brought up in India under a distant father, whose approval he was constantly trying to win. Intense ideological conversations in his early childhood planted the seeds of a double life. -
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Conversion to Communism
During his schooling at Cambridge and his experiences in the world, Philby became increasingly disillusioned with the Fascism that was sweeping across Europe. He slowly began leaning towards the far left until he believed in Communism, specifically the Soviet's Communistic beliefs, along with two other young men, Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean. -
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Vienna
Philby traveled to Vienna for a period, where he would witness the struggle between the Left and right in Austria explode. He would soon meet and fall in love with his first wife, Alice Kohlman (known as LItzi). Litzi was active in the Viennese underground and in contact with Soviet intelligence. Eventually the Left was crushed in 4 days, and Litzi was was a wanted woman. The two got married and fled to Britain in 1934, where Philby would meet Soviet contacts for the first time. -
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The Cambridge Spy Ring
The dates are a little ambiguous, but Philby began passing along information to "Otto" on potential recruits to Soviet Intelligence. The first two were Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean, followed closely by Anthony Blunt. The ring would expand further when John Cairncross would join at a later date. -
Becoming a Soviet Spy
Philby arranged to meet a man who went by the alias "Otto" (Later found to be Arnold Deutsch) who was the chief recruiter for Soviet intelligence in Britain. After just their second meeting, Otto offered Philby he could not refuse: the opportunity to act as an undercover agent for the communist cause. Philby sought a career in journalism or diplomacy, which were ideal covers for spies. The one catch, Philby had to convince everybody around him he was a right wing sympathizer. -
Journalism
Philby worked for the World Review of Reviews and the Anglo-German Gazette under the pretense of a right-winged journalist and frequently traveled to Germany, becoming apart of a fellowship that borderline branded him as pro-Nazi. This made Philby privy to an abundance of information, which Moscow eagerly received. Unfortunately this strained his relationship, and he and Litzi separated not long after he joined. -
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Spain
Philby was ordered to travel to Spain under pretense of freelance journalism to spy on the Fascist Nationalists under General Franco, which was in a civil war against the Soviet-backed Republican forces. He was to report on troop movements, morale, communications, and military aid from Italy and Germany. Simultaneously, he was sending articles back to a British newspaper, the Times. This would prove useful in the future for Philby. -
Joining British Intelligence
Philby's friend and Soviet double agent, Guy Burgess, who had successfully infiltrated MI6, recruited Philby to join British intelligence in 1940. Philby easily entered, and he would meet Nicholas Elliot, a young man who would quickly become close friends with Philby, but would have no idea who the true Philby really was. -
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World War II
Philby joined British intelligence and quickly began working his way up in the ranks. In just under 2 years Philby was working as a part of Section V in MI6, responsible for counter-intelligence. In 1943 he was made deputy head of Section V, and would eventually become the head of it, perfect cover for his intentions. -
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Washington D.C.
Philby was soon appointed to a post in Washington as chief British intelligence representative. There he was extremely close to the head of the CIA, James Jesus Angleton, and privy to much information that he fed to his handlers in Moscow on a regular basis. He was responsible for many failed American espionage offensives during the Cold War, as well as failed coups in other countries in the grasp of Communism. -
Maclean is Discovered
In 1945 it was revealed that there was a leak coming from the British Embassy and going to the Soviets. In January 1950 it was revealed that the leak was coming from Philby's friend and fellow Soviet informant Donald MacLean. To keep his cover, Philby had to aid in the plot against him, but desperately wanted to protect MacLean. -
MacLean's Escape
MacLean was scheduled to be captured and interrogated on May 28, 1951, and just a week prior he still hadn't made a move. Philby sent a telegram to Burgess, who was also in WADC at the time, telling him he needed to aid MacLean in an escape. On May 23, Burgess and macLean made their move. They drove to Southampton, where they boarded a boat to France and proceeded to Moscow. Burgess was only meant to aid in Burgess' escape, but he ended up accompanying him in escape. -
Resignation From MI6
In the immediate aftermath of Burgess and MacLean defecting to the USSR, suspicion fell on Philby of aiding their escape, and also due to his apparent closeness to Burgess. He returned to London, and on his arrival he was interrogated by MI5, aiming to accuse him of being a third man in Burgess and macLean's "spy ring". July 1951, Philby resigned from MI6, yet was still interrogated into his retirement. -
Beirut
Fortunately for Philby, his name was cleared in 1955 by British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan.After his exoneration, Philby no longer worked for MI6 and lost all contact with Soviet intelligence. He moved to Beirut as a news correspondent for The Observer and the Economist. There he would meet and begin an affair with his future third wife Eleanor (from Seattle). After Philby's second wife died of heart failure, he and Eleanor got married and bought a flat in Beirut. -
Golitsyn's Defection
In 1961, Anatoliy Golitsyn, a major of the KGB, defected to America, and offered knowledge of Soviet spies inside American and British intelligence. The new head of MI6, Dick White, jumped at the chance to have his suspicions of Philby addressed. Golitsyn confirmed his suspicions of Philby being a "third man". The truth was revealed to Nicholas Elliot, Philby's faithful and trusting friend, and was tasked with getting a confession out of Philby. -
Confession
Nicholas Elliot confronted Philby in Beirut, and was upfront and straight to the point. When faced with Elliot's accusations, Philby confirmed his work for the Soviets and described his intelligence activities on their behalf. But when Elliot asked him to sign a written confession, Philby refused, but a later date was set for another meeting between the two at the end of January. -
Defection
The night of January 23, Kim Philby disappeared. He claims to have boarded a Soviet freighter ship leaving from Beirut to Odessa, but there are other claims that he traveled by land through Syria, to Soviet Armenia and then to Russia. Not until July 1 that Philby's flight to Moscow was confirmed, and on July 30, Soviet officials released a statement saying they had granted Philby political asylum and Soviet citizenship. -
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Russia
Philby arrived in Moscow and was immediately disappointed by what met him upon arrival. His first 10 years there he was essentially under house arrest for his protection. Later it was revealed it was to keep him from returning to London. Philby was very disillusioned and became depressed and lonely, turning to alcohol. His rationale was that the ideals of communism were right; the execution wrong. He was often brought to tears by the way people were treated and attempted suicide in the 1960s. -
Died
Kim Philby passed away on May 11, 1988 due to heart failure. He was given a hero's funeral and the USSR awarded Philby numerous medals posthumously.
