Mr. Kelley was born on October 24,
1911, in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1936, he received
a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of
Kansas, and an LL.B. degree from the University of
Kansas City, Missouri, in 1940. He was also admitted
to the Missouri Bar in 1940.
Mr. Kelley entered on duty with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent
on October 7, 1940. He gained extensive experience
in many important fields of investigative activity
early in his FBI career while he served in field
offices in Huntington, West Virginia; Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; Des Moines, Iowa; and the FBI Training
Center, Quantico, Virginia, as a firearms instructor.
He was on military leave from the FBI
while serving in the United States Navy from July
22, 1944, to April 9, 1946. Mr. Kelley's service
in the Navy included a tour of duty aboard a transport
attack ship in the South Pacific.
Mr. Kelley's first assignment after
his return from military service during 1946 was
in the Kansas City office. Based on his outstanding
ability and performance, he was assigned supervisory
duties at FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C., in
1951. Later that same year, Mr. Kelley returned to
the Kansas City Division as a field supervisor.
During July 1953, he was transferred
to the Houston office where he served as Assistant
Special Agent in Charge until July 1955, when he
was assigned to the Seattle office in the same capacity.
In August 1956, Mr. Kelley was moved to the San Francisco
field office where he continued his service as Assistant
Special in Charge until July 1957.
Following his assignment in San Francisco,
Mr. Kelley was transferred to the Training and Inspection
Division at FBI Headquarters and shortly thereafter
he was designated as an Inspector.
In December 1957, Mr. Kelley was given
the assignment of Special Agent in Charge of the
Birmingham office and in November 1960, he was reassigned
to the Memphis office in the same capacity. He served
as Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis office
until his retirement from the FBI on October 24,
1961.
After his retirement, Mr. Kelley became
the Chief of Police in Kansas City, Missouri. During
the time he held this position, he was on the Board
of Directors of the Boys' Club and the United Fund.
He also held membership in the Society of Former
Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
the Chamber of Commerce; and Rotary International.
Mr. Kelley was also on the Executive Committee of
the International Association of Chiefs of Police,
and was a member of both the Missouri Chiefs of Police
Association and the Tennessee and Mississippi Peace
Officers Association. He is a past President of the
Missouri Peace Officers Association.
In 1970, he received the J. Edgar
Hoover Gold Medal for Outstanding Job Service, presented
by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was named to
the Presidential Advisory Committee, which was headed
by former Director Hoover in 1971. Mr. Kelley, in
1972, received the Outstanding Officer of the Year
Award, presented by the Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs
Association. In addition, Mr. Kelley served on the
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice
Standards and Goals and on the FBI National Academy
Review Committee, both during the period 1972-1973.
He served as chairman of the Florida Governor's Task
Force to Evaluate Public Safety and Related Support
Services at the 1972 National Political Convention.
Mr. Kelley was nominated by President
Nixon on June 7, 1973, as Director of the FBI. The
United States Senate confirmed the President's nomination
of Mr. Kelley on June, 27, 1973. He was sworn in
as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 9, 1973.
After assuming the Directorship of
the FBI, he received numerous honors and awards:
the Alumnus of the Year of the Kansas City School
of Law at the University of Missouri; the 17th Annual
Award from the Society of Professional Investigators;
Honorary Trustee of the Boys' Club of Greater Washington;
and Honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees from Baker University,
Baldwin City, Kansas; and, Culver-Stockton College,
Canton, Missouri.
He became a Life Elder of his church,
Country Club Christian Church, Kansas City, on May
4, 1975. On December 17, 1975, Mr. Kelley was elected
to the Board of Directors of the Menorah Medical
Center Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. In April,
1976, he was elected to a five-year term as Advisory
Trustee of the University of Missouri - Kansas City
Law Foundation.
Mr. Kelley received the Harry S. Truman
Commemorative Good Neighbor Award in May 1976, from
the Eddie Jacobson Memorial Foundation in Kansas
City, Missouri. He participated in the John Findley
Green Lecture Series at Westminister College in Fulton,
Missouri, in May, 1976, and on that occasion an honorary
Doctor of Political Science Degree was conferred
upon him.