Elizebeth Smith Friedman
The Codebreaker Nobody Credited
Breaking smuggler and Nazi spy ciphers, then watching Hoover take the credit
Rating
86Impact score
Domains
CryptanalysisCounterintelligenceSignals intelligence
Scouting report
Broke the ciphers of rum-runners during Prohibition and testified about it in court, then during the war ran the unit that broke the Enigma traffic of a Nazi spy ring in South America. The FBI publicly claimed those results. Her files stayed classified until 2008, which is why her husband William is the famous Friedman.
Curator’s note
Her work was credited to J. Edgar Hoover for sixty years.
Portrait
Painted from a photograph of Elizebeth Smith Friedman by Unknown, licensed Public domain.
Sources
- 01Elizebeth Smith Friedman en.wikipedia.org
- 02NSA Hall of Honor nsa.gov