The Resume

(January 1, 1912-May 11, 1988)
Born in Ambala, India
Birth name was Harold Adrian Russell Philby
Double agent
Member of the Cambridge Five spy ring
Was simultaneously a high-ranking member of British intelligence and a spy for the KGB
Defected to the Soviet Union (1963)
Wrote the autobiography 'My Silent War' (1968)

Why he might be annoying:

His betrayal of an anti-Communist revolution in Albania cost several hundred lives.
He revealed to the Soviets the small size of the US stockpile of atomic weapons in the late 40s, emboldening Stalin into arming North Korea, leading to the Korean War.
While in Russia, he seduced the wife of his friend (and fellow Cambridge Five member) Donald MacLean.
He was an alcoholic, and called his drinking 'the most painless method of suicide.'
When his Russian wife Rufina was in agony with appendicitis, he spent the night drinking whisky instead of calling an ambulance.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was nicknamed Kim after the title character of a Rudyard Kipling novel.
He successfully neutralized German attempts to sabotage British shipping in Spain and Portugal during World War II.
Thanks to Stalin's paranoia, a large portion of the intelligence he provided the Soviets was ignored as disinformation.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Alcohol Contributed to My Death
• Born on New Year's Day [January 1st] (Ranked: 1912)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 06]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [January] (Ranked: 1011912)
• CNN.com's Famous Spies in History
• I Attended Cambridge
• I Died in 1988 (Ranked: 76)
• I Stutter/Stammer
• I'm a Communist
• Look at Me, I'm Postage
• My Nickname is Part of My Name [M-Z]
• Political Asylum Seekers
• Profiles 21001-21250 (Ranked: 21215)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 195 Votes: 65.13% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 28 Votes: 46.43% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 88 Votes: 42.05% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 134 Votes: 64.93% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 65 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 32 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 125 Votes: 80.80% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 137 Votes: 73.72% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 62 Votes: 66.13% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 31 Votes: 67.74% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 53 Votes: 77.36% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 86 Votes: 74.42% Annoying