Arthur C. Lundahl

Arthur Lundahl
Director of the National Photographic Interpretation Center
In office May 1953 – July 1973
President	Dwight Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	John J. Hicks
Personal details
Born	Arthur Charles Lundahl (1915-04-01)April 1, 1915 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	June 22, 1992(1992-06-22) (aged 77) Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Spouse	Mary Hvid ​ (m. 1944)​
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Chicago (BA, MA)
Known for	Discovering Soviet Missiles in Cuba leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis; forerunner of American IMINT
Awards	Full list
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Battles/wars	World War II

Arthur Charles Lundahl KBE (1 April 1915 – June 22, 1992) was a forerunner of American Cold War imagery intelligence (IMINT) and aerial reconnaissance known for his discovery of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was responsible for establishing the Central Intelligence Agency's National Photographic Interpretation Center, a forerunner of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and led the photointerpretation section of the U-2 reconnaissance program. Analyzing reconnaissance films, he briefed presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy as well as the nation's top military and diplomatic officials. Lundahl provided critical intelligence on the arms race and many other international crises, including the Suez Crisis; Quemoy and Matsu, islands controlled by Taiwan; Tibet; Lebanon, and Laos.