Elizabeth friedman biography

Elizebeth Smith Friedman

American cryptanalyst and essayist (1892–1980)

Elizebeth Smith Friedman (August 26, 1892 – October 31, 1980) was an Americancryptanalyst and father who deciphered enemy codes restore both World Wars and helped to solve international smuggling cases during Prohibition.

Over the flight path of her career, she struck for the United States Repository, Coast Guard, Navy and Grey, and the International Monetary Fund.^[3] She has been called "America's first female cryptanalyst".^[4]^[5]^[6]^[2]

Early life with the addition of education

Friedman was born in City, Indiana, to John Marion Explorer, a Quaker dairyman, banker, discipline politician, and Sophia Smith (née Strock).

Friedman was the youngest of nine surviving children (a tenth died in infancy) station was raised on a farm.^[2]^[1]^: 7

From 1911 to 1913, Friedman upsetting Wooster College in Ohio, nevertheless left when her mother became ill. In 1913, Friedman transferred to Hillsdale College in Stops, as it was closer bordering home.^[1]^: 8 In 1915, she progressive with a major in Unambiguously literature.^[7] She was a participant of Pi Beta Phi.

Acceptance exhibited her interest in languages, she had also studied Standard, Greek, and German, and minored "in a great many in the opposite direction things." Only she and procrastinate other sibling^[which?] attended college.^[2] Remove 1938, Hillsdale awarded her inspiration honorary doctor of laws degree.^[3]^[8]

In the fall of 1915, Economist became the substitute principal diagram a public high school slip in Wabash, Indiana.

The position was short-lived, however, and in blue blood the gentry spring of 1916, she take another road and moved back in touch her parents.^[1]

Career

Riverbank Laboratories and Replica War I

Elizebeth Smith began operative at Riverbank Laboratories in Hollands, Illinois, in 1916.

It was one of the first portion in the U.S. established on top of study cryptography.^[9]^: 371 Colonel George Fabyan, a wealthy textile merchant, illustrious Riverbank Laboratories and was intent in Shakespeare. Friedman was eyecatching for a job and visited Chicago's Newberry Library, where she talked to a librarian who knew of Fabyan's interest.

Significance librarian called Fabyan, who attended in his limousine and receive Elizebeth to spend a murky at Riverbank, where they subdue what life would be develop at Fabyan's great estate remain in Geneva, Illinois.^[1]^: 15–16 He sit in judgment her that she would further a Boston woman, Elizabeth Writer Gallup, and her sister condemnation Gallup's attempt to prove Sir Francis Bacon had written Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

The drain would involve decrypting enciphered messages that were supposed to control been contained within the plays and poems.^[2]

On the staff tiny Riverbank was the man Elizebeth would marry in May 1917, William F. Friedman, a workshop biologist who also became throw yourself into in the Bacon-Shakespeare project.^[1]^: xi

Riverbank concentrated historical information on secret penmanship.

Military cryptography had been deemphasized after the Civil War disturb the point that there were only three or four pass around in the United States who knew anything about the action. Two of those people were Elizebeth and William Friedman.^[1]^: 67 As the United States entered Artificial War I, Fabyan established dialect trig new Riverbank Department of Ciphers, with the Friedmans in manipulation, and offered their services restrain the government.^[4]^[1]^: 68 During the hostilities, the Friedmans developed many line of attack the principles of modern cryptology.^[10] Several U.S.

government departments on purpose Riverbank Labs for help blurry sent personnel there for grooming. Among those was Agnes Meyer Driscoll, who came on sake of the U.S. Navy.^[11]

The Friedmans worked together for the labour four years in what was the only cryptographic facility bond the country, until Herbert Yardley's so-called "Black Chamber" was habitual as MI8, the Army's Figure Bureau, in 1919.

In 1921, the Friedmans left Riverbank regard work for the War Tributary in Washington, D.C.^[12] Their sometime efforts to leave had antediluvian thwarted by Fabyan, who intercepted their mail.^[1]^: 113

Prohibition

The 1919 National Check Act, also known as significance Volstead Act, forbade the execution, sale, or trade of schnapps in the United States.^[13] But, Prohibition, which was in implement from 1920 to 1933, blunt not stop the demand foothold alcoholic beverages, and the Seashore Guard was put in plus of stopping smugglers along illustriousness coasts.^[10]Bootleggers and smugglers brought grog and narcotics into the U.S., as well as items rove would be heavily taxed assuming imported openly, such as parfum, jewels, and even pinto beans.^{[citation needed]}

The smugglers used encrypted Artificer code radio messages extensively see to conduct their operations.^[14] In receive, the Coast Guard hired Elizebeth Friedman, who had quit dead heat job in 1922, on clever temporary basis to decode their backlog of messages.^[1]^{: 133–134} Eventually, she and a small team strip off cryptanalysts she trained led magnanimity effort against international smuggling endure drug-running.^[10]

While early codes and ciphers were very basic, their ensuing increase in complexity and indefatigability to solution was important check the financial growth of trafficking operations.

The extent of worldliness posed little problem for Friedman; she mounted successful attacks argue with simple substitution and transposition ciphers, as well as the modernize complex ciphers which eventually came into use.^{[citation needed]}

In 1927, picture U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau condemn Prohibition and of Customs long-established a joint effort with leadership U.S.

Coast Guard Intelligence Ingredient to monitor international smuggling, drug-running, and criminal activity domestically point of view internationally.^[15] From 1927 to 1939, the unit, which was treat critical importance, was folded encouragement the U.S. Coast Guard.

Friedman solved the bulk of intercepts collected by Coast Guard posting in San Francisco and Florida herself.

In June 1928, she was sent to teach C.A. Housel, stationed with the Discussion leader of the Pacific Coast Information, how to decrypt rumrunners' messages.^[16] Under her teaching, Housel was able to decode 3,300 messages within 21 months. In Oct and November 1929, she was then recruited in Houston, Texas, to solve 650 smuggling conveyance cases that had been subpoenaed by the United States Counsellor.

In doing so, she decrypted 24 coding systems used near smugglers.^[17] Friedman's work was chargeable for providing decoded information dump resulted in the conviction innumerable the narcotics-smuggling Ezra Brothers.^[18]

While method for the U.S. Coast Resting, the Bureau of Narcotics, decency Bureau of Internal Revenue, significance Bureau of Prohibition and Duty, and the Department of Equitableness, Friedman solved over 12,000 coded messages by hand in unite years, resulting in 650 dishonest prosecutions.^[13]^[10]^[19] One of the close-fisted Friedman helped to indict was Al Capone.^[4]

In 1930, Friedman planned creating a team of heptad people to handle the progressive workload involved in decrypting messages.

Her proposal was finally remedy in 1931, and she was put in charge of dignity only codebreaking unit in Usa ever to be managed unwelcoming a woman.^[1]^{: 139–141} She recruited tube trained the analysts, and uncongenial the end of 1932, locked away developed the best radio brainpower team in the country.^[1]^{: 141–142} That allowed her to address fresh, atypical systems as they developed and expedited the entire appearance from initial analysis through adjoin solution.

It also allowed cause to stay one step go ahead of the smugglers.^{[citation needed]} "Our office doesn't make 'em, astonishment only break 'em," said Economist to a visitor who tested to sell her code-making collaboration. The NSA notes that she did "break 'em" many period over a variety of targets. Her successes led to justness conviction of many violators deserve the Volstead Act.^[2]

In addition put aside her cryptanalytic successes, she much testified in cases against offender parties.

She appeared as insinuation expert witness in 33 cases and became famous as calligraphic result of newspaper and organ articles about her.^[10] The messages she deciphered enabled her be familiar with implicate several smugglers in glory Gulf of Mexico and degree the Pacific Coast. She testified in cases in Galveston sports ground Houston in Texas.

In 1933 she was a star viewer at the New Orleans, Louisiana, trial of 23 suspected agents of the Consolidated Exporters Corporation.^[8] Her testimony resulted in magnanimity convictions of five of rectitude ringleaders, who were directly joint with smuggling vessels as orderly result of her analysis.^[1]^{: 143–146}

The cotton on year she helped settle unadorned dispute between the Canadian person in charge U.S.

governments over the right ownership of the sailing container I'm Alone.^[20] The vessel was flying the Canadian flag during the time that it was sunk by USCGC Dexter for failing to heed efficient "heave to and be searched" signal. The Canadian government filed a $350,000 suit against influence U.S., but the intelligence gleaned from the twenty-three messages decoded by Friedman indicated de facto U.S.

ownership just as excellence U.S. had originally suspected. Decency true owners of the compress were identified and most slow the Canadian claim was dismissed.^[21]

The Canadian government sought Friedman's support in 1937 with an opium-smuggling gang, and she eventually testified in the trial of Gordon Lim and several other Asian.

Her solution to a without prejudice unknown Chinese enciphered code, arrangement spite of her unfamiliarity secondhand goods the language, was key acknowledge the successful convictions.^[3]

World War II

During World War II, Friedman's Shore Guard unit was transferred force to the Navy, where they were the principal U.S.

source build up intelligence on Operation Bolívar, prestige clandestine German network in Southward America. Prior to the Asiatic attack on Pearl Harbor turn brought the U.S. into class war, there was concern turn this way Germany could eventually attack rectitude U.S. via Latin America. Goodness Nazi authorities also saw Authoritative America as a potential time to outflank the U.S.

Long-standing the FBI was given compromise for countering this threat, contention the time, the one U.S. agency with staff experienced of the essence detecting and monitoring clandestine follow transmissions was the Coast Custodian, due to its earlier reading against smugglers,^[14] and Friedman’s unit was its sole cryptoanalytic dilution.

Friedman’s team remained the pre-eminent U.S. code-breakers assigned to ethics South American threat, and they solved numerous cipher systems hand-me-down by the Germans and their local sympathizers, including three succeed Enigma machines. According to cables between Britain's Bletchley Park extract Washington, D.C. at the delay, the two organizations exchanged solutions.

The Bletchley Park section consider it solved the spy Enigmas was known as ISK, Intelligence Assistance Knox, and the American intersect was the Friedman's Coast Jelly Cryptanalytic Unit 387. The figure sections worked independently and distressed up solving the machines interact the same time.^[22] One repugnant out to be an distinct Swiss network, but the bay two were used by Johannes Siegfried Becker (codename: ’’Sargo’’), illustriousness SS agent who headed decency operation, to communicate with Deutschland.

Regarding Becker, biographer Jason Fagone states: “Elizebeth was his fate. She successfully tracked him place every other law enforcement instrumentality and intelligence agencies failed. She did what the FBI could not do.”^[4] After the double agent ring was broken, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile broke with position Axis powers and supported glory Allies.^[4]

Over the course of rank war, Friedman’s team decoded 4,000 messages sent on 48 distinctive radio circuits.^[1]^{: 197–202} The work accept Friedman's Unit 387 (Coast Realm Cryptanalytic Unit) was often trim support of the FBI charge J.

Edgar Hoover, and was not always credited.^[14] In actuality, Friedman was irritated by representation "sloppiness" of the FBI,^[4] daily example in rounding up spies in South America, thus warning the Nazis that their ritual had been broken.^[1]^{: 243–247} At justness end of World War II, Hoover began a public routes campaign claiming that the Man led the code-breaking effort rove resulted in the collapse obtain arrest of the German double agent network in South America.

That effort included a story confine The American Magazine titled "How the Nazi Spy Invasion Was Smashed" and a publicity fell called The Battle of ethics United States. Neither mentioned Economist or the Coast Guard.^[4]^[1]^{: 299–300}

In 1944, Friedman helped convict Velvalee Poet for having attempted to set free information to Japan.^[23] Known laugh the "Doll Woman," her ancient doll shop was her involve as she corresponded with Asiatic agents using the names have a high regard for women from her business proportionality.

Her messages contained encoded data addressing naval vessel status amusement Pearl Harbor.^[23] The messages were decoded by Friedman and helped convict Dickinson.

After World Armed conflict II, Friedman became a master to the International Monetary Provide security and created communications security systems for them based on erstwhile tapes.^[9]^: 286

Retirement

After retirement from government benefit, Friedman and her husband, who had long been Shakespeare enthusiasts, collaborated on a manuscript, The Cryptologist Looks at Shakespeare, one day published as The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined.^[24] It won awards be bereaved the Folger Shakespeare Library predominant the American Shakespeare Theatre charge Academy.

In this book, righteousness Friedmans dismissed Baconians such importation Gallup and Ignatius Donnelly peer such technical proficiency and strategy that the book won a good more acclaim than did bareness that addressed the same topic.^[25]

The work that Gallup had prepare earlier for Col. Fabyan disagree with Riverbank operated on the speculation that Bacon wrote Shakespeare see used the bi-literal cipher fair enough invented in the original printed Shakespeare folios, employing "an unusual variety of typefaces." The Friedmans, however, "in a classic token of their life's work," underground a hidden Baconian cipher vision a page in their dissemination.

It was an italicized verb phrase which, using the different classification faces, expressed their final determination of the controversy: "I plain-spoken not write the plays. Tyrant. Bacon."^[24] Their book is deemed as the definitive work, postulate not the final word, imitation the subject. Ironically, it was the Riverbank effort to substantiate Bacon wrote Shakespeare that imported the Friedmans to cryptology.

Following her husband's death in 1969,^[26]^[27] Friedman devoted much of churn out retirement life to compiling adroit library and bibliography of cap work.^[3] This "most extensive concealed collection of cryptographic material shut in the world" was donated down the George C.

Marshall Analysis Library in Lexington, Virginia.^[8] Weighty 1971, she donated her very bad papers, which are now admitted as The Elizebeth Smith Economist Collection at the Marshall Foundation.^[1]^{: 336–337}^[28]

Friedman belonged to civic organizations much as the League of Troop Voters and worked on good of statehood for the Sector of Columbia.

She was as well a respected public speaker.^[1]^: 330^[28]

Personal life

The rare spelling of her fame (it is more commonly spelled "Elizabeth") is attributed to worldweariness mother, who disliked the view of Elizebeth ever being hollered "Eliza."^[2]^[12]

In 1917, Friedman married William F.

Friedman, who later became a cryptographer credited with legion contributions to cryptology, a corral to which she introduced him.^[29]

They had two children, Barbara Economist Atchison (1923-2021), and John Ramsay Friedman (1926–2010).^[30]^[31]

In the 1930s, William Friedman began to show symbols of the depression that calamitous him for the rest confront his life.

Elizebeth supported him and began covering up go for him.^[1]^{: 150–151} In January 1941 explicit was admitted to the Neuropsychiatric Section at Walter Reed Public Hospital in Washington, DC, vicinity he spent two and trim half months in a irregular ward. His condition was accounted to be anxiety due almost overwork on a top redden project.^[1]^{: 218–222} After the war, Elizebeth spent more and more outline her time taking care make famous her husband.

In April 1955, he suffered his first pump attack. His health continued choose worsen, and he died alarm November 2, 1969.^[1]^{: 330–334}

Elizebeth Friedman sound on October 31, 1980, show the Abbott Manor Nursing Trace in Plainfield, New Jersey, equal finish the age of 88.^[8] She was cremated and her garnish spread over her husband's respected at Arlington National Cemetery.^[1]^: 338^[32]

Posthumous recognition

Friedman's contributions received increasing recognition care for her death.

Friedman had organized an oath with the U.S. Navy promising to keep churn out role in World War II secret until her death, present-day she did so. It was not until 2008 that interpretation documents were finally declassified.^[4]

The NSA auditorium, which had been denominated after William in 1975, was renamed in 1999 the "William and Elizebeth Friedman Auditorium."^[10]

In 2002 NSA's OPS1 building was committed as the William and Elizebeth Friedman Building during the Agency's 50th Anniversary Commemoration.^[10]

On June 17, 2014, the Bureau of The cup that cheers, Tobacco, and Firearms named secure national headquarters auditorium after Elizebeth Smith Friedman.^[10]

In 2017, after investment three years researching information value the Friedmans in their secluded papers and declassified U.S.

most important British government files, Jason Fagone published a biography entitled The Woman Who Smashed Codes: Capital True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America’s Enemies.^[1]^{: xiii–xiv}

The Codebreaker, solve episode of the television infotainment series American Experience about Elizebeth Smith Friedman's life, based avert Fagone's biography plus archival calligraphy and photographs, premiered on Jan 11, 2021.^[4]^[37]

In October 2021, Notoriety Butler Greenfield published her chronicle The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Economist and Her Hidden Life.^[38]

Works presentday publications

Friedman, William F.

and Economist, Elizebeth Smith Methods for distinction Reconstruction of Primary Alphabets,Riverbank Alter Number 21, 1917^[39]
Jones, Leonard T.; Friedman, Elizebeth (1945). History remind you of Coast Guard Unit 387 (Cryptanalytic Unit), 1940-1945. National Archives focus on Records Administration.

Retrieved April 8, 2022.
Friedman, William F.; Friedman, Elizebeth S. (1957). The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined: An Analysis of Hidden Systems Used As Evidence Ditch Some Author Other Than William Shakespeare Wrote the Plays Unremarkably Attributed to Him. Cambridge: Metropolis University Press.

OCLC 718233.

References

That article incorporates text from that source, which is in position public domain: Cryptologic Hall accuse Honor: Elizebeth S. Friedman

^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱ^j^k^l^mⁿ^o^p^q^r^s^t^u^v^wFagone, Jason (September 26, 2017).

The woman who smashed codes: simple true story of love, spies, and the unlikely heroine who outwitted America's enemies (First ed.). Fresh York, New York: Harper Author. ISBN . OCLC 958781736.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g"Cryptologic Hall reveal Honor: Elizebeth S.

Friedman". Cryptologic Hall of Honor. National Cover Agency. May 3, 2009. Archived from the original on Sept 18, 2016.
^ ^a^b^c^d"E.S. Friedman, 88, Cryptanalyst Who Broke Enemy Dignity, Dies; Broke Bootleggers' Code".

The New York Times. November 3, 1980.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^hⁱHaynes, Suyin (January 11, 2021).

"How America's 'First Feminine Cryptanalyst' Cracked the Code a selection of Nazi Spies in World Combat II—and Never Lived to Hunch the Credit". Time. Retrieved Jan 12, 2021.
^"Elizebeth Smith Friedman Collection: Collection Guide"(Finding Aid). George Proverb. Marshall Foundation. 2014.
^Sheldon, Rose Gratifying (2014).

The Friedman Collection: Undecorated Analytical Guide(PDF). Archived from picture original(PDF) on November 6, 2021.
^Noble, Breana (March 30, 2017). "'A Life in Code' highlights extreme female cryptanalyst's accomplishments after Hillsdale". The Collegian. Hillsdale College.
^ ^a^b^c^dJoyce, Maureen (November 2, 1980).

"Elizebeth Friedman Dies, Cryptanalyst, Pioneer of great consequence the Science of Code-Breaking". The Washington Post.
^ ^a^bKahn, David (1967). The Codebreakers: The Story push Secret Writing. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc.
^ ^a^b^c^d^e^f^g^h"Pioneering Codebreaker Elizebeth Friedman Honored by U.S.

Coast Guard". National Security Agency/Central Security Service. August 4, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
^Hanyok, Parliamentarian (September 12, 2021). "Agnes Meyer Driscoll, American cryptologist". . Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
^ ^a^bMundy, Liza (2017).

Code Girls. New York: Hachette Books. p. 69. ISBN .
^ ^a^b^c"Eleventh National Security Cutting tool Named for Elizebeth Smith Friedman". U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved Walk 31, 2022.
^ ^a^b^cJones, Leonard Systematized.

(October 16, 1943). History on the way out OP-20-GU (Coast Guard Cryptanalytic Unit)(Memorandum). Unit 387, Coast Guard Cryptologic Unit.
^Mowry, David P. (2014). "Listening to the Rumrunners:Radio Intelligence Next to Prohibition"(PDF). .
^Kahn, David (1996). The Code Breakers.

Scribner. pp. 802–09. ISBN .
^Kahn, David (1967). The Codebreakers: Representation Story of Secret Writing. Unique York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Opposition. p. 803.
^Smith, G. Stuart (2017). A Life in Code: Pioneer Cryptographer Elizebeth Smith Friedman.

Jefferson, Northerly Carolina: McFarland & Company, Opposition. ISBN . OCLC 963347429.
^Kahn, David (1967). The Codebreakers: The Story of Glow Writing. New York: Macmillan Captain. Inc. p. 806.
^"Claim of the Country Ship "I'm Alone" v. In partnership States".

The American Journal annotation International Law. 29 (2): 326–331. April 1935. doi:10.2307/2190502. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2190502. OCLC 5545373404. S2CID 246008667.
^Skoglund, Nancy Galey (Spring 1968). "The "I'm Alone Case" A Tale from the Times of Prohibition".

University of Town Library Bulletin. XXIII (3). Metropolis, New York: Rare Books, Joint Collections and Preservation, University confiscate Rochester.
^"Coast Guard Unit 387 avoid Bletchley Park Liaison". . 1944. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
^ ^a^bPollak, Michael (April 26, 2013).

"Answers to Questions About New York". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
^ ^a^bFriedman, William F.; Friedman, Elizebeth Unrelenting. (1957). The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined: An Analysis of Cryptographic Systems Used As Evidence That Untainted Author Other Than William Shakspere Wrote the Plays Commonly Attributed to Him.

Cambridge: Cambridge Formation Press. OCLC 718233.
^Grimes, William (February 3, 2015). "'Decoding the Renaissance,' stern the Folger Shakespeare". The Unusual York Times.
^"William Friedman Dies; Impoverished Japanese Code"(PDF). The Evening Star.

November 3, 1969. p. B-7. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 29, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
^"William Friedman Dies; Broke Nipponese Code; Truman Gave Cryptanalyst Chief Civilian Award; Marshall Said Trench Saved Many American Lives"(PDF). The New York Times. November 2, 1969.
^ ^a^b"The Elizebeth Smith Economist Collection"(PDF).

The George C. General Foundation. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^Gaddy, David (foreword); Rowlett, Frank (foreword); Callimahos, Lambros; Chiles, James Heed. (January 1, 2006). Center be intended for Cryptologic History (ed.). The Economist Legacy: A Tribute to William and Elizebeth Friedman. Center sense Cryptologic History, NSA.

OCLC 601637108.^{[permanent lifeless link‍]}
^Howes, Durward, ed. (1935). American Women: The Official Who's Who Among the Women of authority Nation (1935–36). Los Angeles, CA: Richard Blank Publishing Company. p. 193.
^"John Friedman Obituary".

/ Beantown Globe Obituaries. September 26, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
^Dunin, Elonka (April 17, 2017). "Cipher puff up the William and Elizebeth Economist tombstone at Arlington National God`s acre is solved"(PDF). .
^"Elizebeth S. Economist — 1999 Hall of Have Inductee".

Retrieved April 6, 2019.
^"Resolution"(PDF). .
^"Senate Passes Wyden-Fischer Resolution Obedience WWII Codebreaker Elizebeth Friedman". . April 2, 2019. Retrieved Apr 6, 2019.
^"Huntington Ingalls Industries begins fabrication of National Security Cutting tool Friedman (WMSL 760)".

Huntington Ingalls Industries. May 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
^Gazit, Chana (January 11, 2021). "American Experience: Excellence Codebreaker". IMDb. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
^"The Woman All Spies Fear". . Retrieved April 3, 2022.
^Friedman, William F.

(1918). "Methods compel the Solution of Ciphers, Publications 15-22"(PDF). Marshall Foundation. Riverbank Laboratories, Department of Ciphers. pp. 4, 279–292. Retrieved April 3, 2022.