Please answer the following question: Facts: - death place: new york city , new york , united states - relatives: bosley hiss , sister mary ann hiss , sister hiss , brother donald hiss , brother anna - known for: conviction for perjury related to espionage - caption: alger hiss testifying - death date: 15 november 1996 - spouse: priscilla 1984 isabel johnson 1985 1996 fenster hobson -lrb- 1903 -- 1984 -rrb- 1929 - parents: mary lavinia hughes charles alger hiss - education: baltimore law school city college high school johns hopkins university harvard - children: tony hiss - birth date: 11 november 1904 - name: alger hiss - image size: 300px - image: alger hiss -lrb- 1950 -rrb- . jpg - birth place: baltimore , maryland , united states Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of alger hiss .
Answer:
alger hiss -lrb- november 11 , 1904 -- november 15 , 1996 -rrb- was an american government official who was accused of being a soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950 .before he was accused and tried , he was involved in the establishment of the united nations both as a u.s. state department and u.n. official .in later life he worked as a lecturer and author .on august 3 , 1948 , whittaker chambers , a former communist party member , testified under subpoena before the house un-american activities committee -lrb- huac -rrb- that hiss had secretly been a communist , though not a spy , while in federal service .called before huac , hiss categorically denied the charge .when chambers repeated his claim on nationwide radio , hiss filed a defamation lawsuit against him .during the pretrial discovery process , chambers produced new evidence indicating that he and hiss had been involved in espionage , which both men had previously denied under oath to huac .a federal grand jury indicted hiss on two counts of perjury ; chambers admitted to the same offense but , as a cooperating government witness , was never charged .although hiss 's indictment stemmed from the alleged espionage , he could not be tried for that crime because the statute of limitations had expired .after a mistrial due to a hung jury , hiss was tried a second time .in january 1950 , he was found guilty on both counts of perjury and received two concurrent five-year sentences , of which he eventually served three and a half years .hiss maintained his innocence until his death .arguments about the case and the validity of the verdict took center stage in broader debates about the cold war , mccarthyism , and the extent of soviet espionage in the united states .since hiss ' conviction , statements by involved parties and newly exposed evidence have added to the dispute .author anthony summers argued that since many relevant files continue to be unavailable , the hiss controversy will continue to...