15 Most Infamous Traitors in History

15 Most Infamous Traitors in History

Betrayers, back stubbers, double-crossers, or double-dealers, they know not the language of loyalty. Or as best put by Martin Luther, “Each betrayal begins with trust.” These infamous traitors in history are a testament to the different forms of backstabbing.

From the likes of Benedict Arnold who betrayed his nation, to Vidkun Quisling who gave in to his thirst for power. Not forgetting Aldrich Ames who saw treachery as a means to earn more money. While Robert Ford killed an acquaintance for selfish reasons. The list of these ill-famed turncoats goes on. Check it out below.

Here are the 15 Most Infamous Traitors in History.

1. Benedict Arnold

He was a merchant operating ships in the Atlantic when the American Revolutionary War broke and he joined the American military. His excellence saw him earn promotion to the rank of major general.

Subsequently, while engaged with the American Continental Army, he was charged to command the West Point in New York in 1780. While on this task, he planned to surrender the fort to British forces but his mission was unveiled in September 1780, forcing him to flee to the British troops. Henceforth, he became infamous for betrayal in the US.

Working with the British Army saw him become a brigadier general in charge of the American Legion. Thus led his soldiers to battle against the same troops he was once in charge of. According to critics, some of the reasons that led to his betrayal were, greed and he was also indebted to the Continental Congress, to support his lavish lifestyle.

Some of Arnold’s acts of betrayal included:

• The May 1779 secret overtures to British headquarters
• Informing the British of a planned American invasion of Canada in 1780
• Planning to surrender the West Point fort in New York in 1780

In the end, Benedict’s contact in the British Army, Major John André, was captured by American militants. Though André was hanged as a spy, Arnold managed to escape in a British ship. He was born in Connecticut on 14 January 1741 and passed on in London aged 60 years on 14 June 1801.

Get to know why Benedict Arnold is still a fascinating personality today.

2. Vidkun Quisling

He is labeled as an infamous collaborator for betraying Norway to Germany. He served as a Norwegian military officer cum politician and Nazi collaborator. Hence he headed the Norwegian government during World War II (1942 to 1945) when Norway was under the command of Nazi Germany.

Quisling betrayed Norway by:

• Attempting a coup d’état in April 1940 by announcing on Norwegian radio waves that all citizens ought to welcome rather than resist German rule.
• He announced a new government during the coup and declared himself as the new head of state.
• Sending Jews out of Norway to concentration camps in Poland.

After World War II, Quisling was arrested by Norwegian authorities. Then followed his trial and conviction for treason charges leading to him being issued a death sentence. He was born in Norway on 18 July 1887 and passed away in his country at 58 years old on 24 October 1945.

3. Aldrich Ames

The former CIA officer hails from River Falls, Wisconsin where he was born on May 26, 1941. He ranks among the most notorious traitors in history for espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia against the American forces.

Additionally, he disclosed that his spy mission was motivated by greed hence he wanted to earn extra money. He made the remarks while speaking to CNN during an interview in 1998.

Following his actions, he was arrested alongside his wife, Rosario Ames on February 21, 1994. The former CIA female agent Sandy Grimes is credited for aiding his capture. In court, Ames agreed he had provided the USSR and Russia with crucial information on the US foreign, defense, and security policies.

Thus he was convicted and is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole in the federal prison system. His wife Rosario Ames was released upon completion of her sentence. Aldrich forfeited his assets to the US and about $547,000 at the time was turned to the Victims Assistance Fund of the Justice Department.

4. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

This married couple entered the records of ill-famed traitors in history for being spies to the Soviet Union. They were convicted for releasing American top-secret intelligence information. Such as details on radar, nuclear weapon designs, sonar, and jet propulsion engines.

Moreover, one specific secret they leaked was the 1945 atomic bomb intended for the Soviet Union. The couple was convicted by the federal government in 1951 and executed in 1953. According to the Rosenbergs’ will, the family attorney Manny Bloch was the guardian of the children (Michael and Robert).

Following the conviction of their parents, they appealed for the release of their parents in 1953 before their execution. But to their shock, all evidence pointed to their father as a recruiter of Soviet spies. So Bloch placed the boys under the care of Abel and Anne Meeropol who later adopted them in 1957.

5. Mata Hari

She was an acclaimed exotic dancer of Dutch origin who doubled as a courtesan (kept mistress) associated with influential personalities. She was convicted for spying for Germany, facing execution by firing squad in France.

To add on, Hari’s seduction prowess to entrap her lovers to engage in compromising and deadly traps has formed the basis for such character in popular culture through film and literature. She was born in the Netherlands on August 1876 and met her demise at 41 years of age in France on 15 October 1917.

Check out a few more realities about the life of this exotic dancer, Mata Hari.

6. Kim Philby

He was a British intelligence officer who worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union, earning his place among the infamous traitors in history. He was part of a spy ring known as the Cambridge Five which issued British secrets to the Soviet Union.

More to it, Philby’s espionage activities occurred during the Second World War. Hence being part of the “MI6” (Military Intelligence, Section 6) team, he accessed the agency’s secret files and revealed his findings to the Soviet Union.

He was unmasked by the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti) defector, Anatoly Golitsyn in 1962. He fled to Moscow in 1963 and was there until his death on 11 May 1988, aged 76 years. He was born in British India on 1 January 1912.

7. Robert Hanssen

He was an FBI agent but is ranked among the ill-reputed traitors in history for working as a Soviet and Russian spy against the United States. He rendered espionage services from 1979 up to 2001.

Hanssen betrayed the United States through:

• Selling classified documents detailing US strategies on nuclear war and developments in weapon technology to KGB
• Informing Russia on the US counterintelligence moves

He was arrested near his Washington, D.C. home on February 18, 2001. He pleaded guilty to 14 counts of espionage and 1 of conspiring to commit espionage. This led to his fifteen life terms sentence with no possibility of parole and he was detained at ADX Florence.

While still serving his life sentence, he was found unresponsive on the morning of 5 June 2023. Lifesaving efforts by medics failed leading to his death the same day at the age of 79 years. He was born in Illinois on April 18, 1944.

8. Alger Hiss

He was a State Department official cum government lawyer who helped in the founding of the United Nations, after World War II. He was accused of spying for the Soviet Union during the 1930s and hence arrested in 1948.

What’s more, Hiss maintained his innocence and was convicted of perjury (lying to a federal grand jury) in 1950. He held to his claim of innocence until his death at 92 years old on November 15, 1996, in New York City. Baltimore, Maryland was his birth location on November 11, 1904.

9. Guy Fawkes

 

He is a disreputable backstabber in historical records known for the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. This mission was aimed at the assassination of King James I who had refused to restore the Catholic monarchy to England even after decades of the persecution of Catholics.

On top of that, the assassination plot was spearheaded by a group of English Catholics led by their leader Robert Catesby. Fawkes was a member of this group and part of the conspiracy.

This event is commemorated every year on November 5 in Great Britain. It is known as Guy Fawkes Night and it involves bonfires and fireworks displays to signify the celebration of the failed assassination attempt. Fawkes was born in England on 13 April 1570 and died in London at 35 years on 31 January 1606.

10. Mir Jafar

This military general of the Indian Army is remembered as one of the most notorious turncoats in history for betraying his Bengali army. Jafar was a commander in the Bengali army serving under Siraj ud-Daulah.

Due to greed, he was promised to become Nawab of Bengal by Robert Clive if he betrayed Siraj. Thus he conspired with the British during the Battle of Plassey leading to a British victory in 1757.

Afterward, his troops were defeated and he was in the blink of being caught, so he committed suicide by drinking poison to avoid being captured alive. He was born in India in 1691 and passed away aged 73-74 years old in India on 5 February 1765.

11. Tokyo Rose

Her official name was Iva Toguri D’Aquino and she served as a radio journalist during World War II earning the moniker “Tokyo Rose”. She was involved in spreading Japanese propaganda on the radio during the war. After the war in 1945, she was detained for about a year by the US military but released for lack of evidence.

Moreover, on October 6, 1949, she was convicted of treason and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment including a fine of $10,000 at the time. She died of natural causes at 90 years of age in Illinois on 26 September 2006. She was born in California on 4 July 1916.

12. John Anthony Walker

This chief warrant officer in the US Navy was convicted for being a spy to the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1985. Thus he was arrested in 1985 for selling U.S. intelligence secrets to the Soviet Union.

His espionage activities were reported to the FBI by his ex-wife and one of his daughters. Following investigations, he was given a life sentence. He was born in Washington, D.C. on July 28, 1937. He passed on serving his sentence aged 77 years old in North Carolina on August 28, 2014.

13. William Joyce

Dubbed Lord Haw-Haw, this American-born fascist remains one of the infamous double-dealers in history. During World War II he served as a Nazi propaganda broadcaster which saw him considered a betrayer by the British government.

To add on, William left New York for Ireland and later went to England where he joined the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in the 1930s. He shifted camp to the German side and earned citizenship in 1940.

After the Second World War in 1945, he was convicted of high treason by the United Kingdom government. Hence he was hanged in Wandsworth Prison on 3 January 1946 at the age of 39 years and buried within the same facility.

In 1976 his daughter petitioned to have his remains exhumed and interred in his home. Her request was granted and he was buried in what was once his home in Galway, Ireland where his grave lies to date. He was born in New York City on 24 April 1906.

If you wish to discover the effects of World War II on Germany, check here.

14. Klaus Fuchs

He was a German theoretical physicist who entered the books of notorious traitors in history for acting as a spy for the Soviet Union. At the center of the Manhattan Project during the Second World War, he worked against the American, British, and Canadian teams by issuing nuclear information to the Soviets.

Fuchs betrayed America, British, and Canada by:

• Issuing details of the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union
• Sharing information on the developments of the first nuclear weapons as well as the hydrogen bomb

Furthermore, he was convicted in 1950 in the United Kingdom but released nine years later. He returned to Germany where he was celebrated as a hero and honored with many awards. He was born in Germany on 29 December 1911. He died in his country aged 76 years on 28 January 1988.

15. Robert Ford

He was an outlaw and is remembered as one of the most infamous backstabbers in history. As a member of the criminal group ‘James–Younger Gang’ he teamed with his brother to murder the gang’s leader Jesse James on April 3, 1882.

Subsequently, he fell victim to his actions and succumbed to a neck gunshot when he was 30 years old. He grew up in Missouri where he was born on January 31, 1862. He met his demise while in Colorado on June 8, 1892.

These infamous traitors in history have earned a reputation on the dark pages of historical accounts. Their actions open our eyes to the reality that treachery traces its way from ancient times and it won’t stop now.