Jackson Tate
Encyclopedia
Jackson Rogers Tate was a United States Navy
admiral
who began his naval career as an enlisted man and became one of the first naval aviators. He fathered a child, Victoria
, during a brief love affair with Russian actress Zoya Fyodorova
near the end of World War II
, but did not know of her birth until 1973. He waged a successful two-year diplomatic quest for her to be allowed to visit him in the United States, finally meeting her in 1975. Her story is told in The Admiral's Daughter
.
. As a lieutenant (jg) in 1923, he was assigned to an aircraft squadron. In 1940, as a lieutenant commander
, he was assigned as an air officer aboard the .
who was stationed in Moscow, where he met well-known Russian actress Zoya Fyodorova
at the U.S. Embassy. Tate was warned to end the relationship by secret police. When Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
learned of the affair, Tate was declared an unwelcome person and expelled from Moscow, and Fyodorova was arrested and sent to Siberia for 8 years. Their daughter, Victoria, was born January 8, 1946, and was named for V-E Day.
professor Irene Kirk learned of Victoria's story in 1959 and spent years trying to find Tate in the United States. Tate was unaware of having a daughter and of his former lover's arrest and imprisonment. When Kirk found Tate in 1973, she carried correspondence between the two back and forth to Moscow. In 1974, Tate began a campaign to convince the Soviet government to allow his daughter to travel to see him in the United States. She was granted permission and arrived in the United States in March 1975 on a three-month travel visa. She spent several weeks in seclusion in Florida with Tate.
was based on a book written by Tate, who also flew stunts for the movie.
Tate suffered heart ailments and had open heart surgery
in the last years of his life and died of cancer
on 19 July 1978 in Orange Park, Florida
. He was survived by his wife, Hazel, his daughter, Victoria, and a son, Hugh.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
who began his naval career as an enlisted man and became one of the first naval aviators. He fathered a child, Victoria
Victoria Fyodorova
Victoria Fyodorova is a Russian-born American actress who was born at the end of the World War II to Admiral Jackson Tate and Zoya Fyodorova , a Russian actress with whom he had a brief affair before being expelled from Moscow by Joseph Stalin.Fyodorova wrote the 1979 book The Admiral's Daughter...
, during a brief love affair with Russian actress Zoya Fyodorova
Zoya Fyodorova
Zoya Alekseyevna Fyodorova was a Russian film star who had an affair with American Navy captain Jackson Tate in 1945 and bore a child, Victoria Fyodorova in January 1946. As a result of the affair, she was imprisoned in Siberia by Joseph Stalin for eight years...
near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but did not know of her birth until 1973. He waged a successful two-year diplomatic quest for her to be allowed to visit him in the United States, finally meeting her in 1975. Her story is told in The Admiral's Daughter
The Admiral's Daughter
The Admiral's Daughter is a 1979 autobiography written by Victoria Fyodorova with Haskel Frankel. It relates the story of Fyodorova's parents, Jackson Tate and Zoya Fyodorova, who had an affair in Moscow in 1945, her childhood in the Soviet Union, and her later search for and reunion with her...
.
Early life and career
Tate enlisted in the Navy before World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As a lieutenant (jg) in 1923, he was assigned to an aircraft squadron. In 1940, as a lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
, he was assigned as an air officer aboard the .
Russian affair
In 1945, Captain Tate was a deputy attachéAttaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
who was stationed in Moscow, where he met well-known Russian actress Zoya Fyodorova
Zoya Fyodorova
Zoya Alekseyevna Fyodorova was a Russian film star who had an affair with American Navy captain Jackson Tate in 1945 and bore a child, Victoria Fyodorova in January 1946. As a result of the affair, she was imprisoned in Siberia by Joseph Stalin for eight years...
at the U.S. Embassy. Tate was warned to end the relationship by secret police. When Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
learned of the affair, Tate was declared an unwelcome person and expelled from Moscow, and Fyodorova was arrested and sent to Siberia for 8 years. Their daughter, Victoria, was born January 8, 1946, and was named for V-E Day.
Reunion
University of ConnecticutUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
professor Irene Kirk learned of Victoria's story in 1959 and spent years trying to find Tate in the United States. Tate was unaware of having a daughter and of his former lover's arrest and imprisonment. When Kirk found Tate in 1973, she carried correspondence between the two back and forth to Moscow. In 1974, Tate began a campaign to convince the Soviet government to allow his daughter to travel to see him in the United States. She was granted permission and arrived in the United States in March 1975 on a three-month travel visa. She spent several weeks in seclusion in Florida with Tate.
Personal
The movie Hell DiversHell Divers
Hell Divers is a 1931 movie starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers on board the USS Saratoga...
was based on a book written by Tate, who also flew stunts for the movie.
Tate suffered heart ailments and had open heart surgery
Open Heart Surgery
Open Heart Surgery was released on August 8, 2000 by rock band Virginwool. The band signed to Breaking/Atlantic Records after initially beginning signed to Universal Records. The album was produced and mixed by Brad Wood....
in the last years of his life and died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on 19 July 1978 in Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...
. He was survived by his wife, Hazel, his daughter, Victoria, and a son, Hugh.