James Campbell Hagerty (May 9, 1909 – April 11, 1981) served as the eighth White House Press Secretary from 1953 to 1961 during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

[1] After his Irish Catholic family moved to New York when he was 3 years old, James Hagerty attended Evander Childs High School in the Bronx, before enrolling in and graduating from Blair Academy, which he attended for his last two years in high school.

On June 10, Hagerty arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport to make advance preparations for a planned visit to Japan by Eisenhower that was scheduled for later that month.

[5] The Hagerty Incident shocked much of the Japanese public, insofar as it was seen as a grave discourtesy to a foreign guest, and contributed to the cancellation of Eisenhower's visit, for fear that his safety could not be guaranteed, as well as the forced resignation of Japanese prime minister Nobusuke Kishi shortly thereafter.

[7][8] After Eisenhower left office in January 1961, Hagerty became a vice president of the ABC television network, serving from 1961–1975.