Elizebeth Smith Friedman
Personal Information
Born: 1892
Died: 1980
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
College of Wooster 1911-13 transferred to Hillsdale College; Hillsdale college BA English Literature 1915; American University MA Archaeology
"“Many times I’ve been asked as to how my authority, that is the direction and superior status of a woman as instructor, teacher, mentor, and slave driver, even to commissioned and non-commissioned officers, by these men was accepted,” she said. “I must declare with all truth that with one exception, all of the men young or older who have worked for me and under me and with me, have been true colleagues and have never been obstructionists in any way.” (themobmuseum.org); "
— Elizebeth Smith Friedman
Professional Life
Field of Study: Cryptography
Institution/Corporation: US Treasury; US Coast Guard; Marshall Foundation
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degree: Hillsdale College (1938); Member: Pi Beta Phi; League of Women Voters
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1999 NSA Hall of Honor; 1999 NSA auditorium named the William & Elizebeth Friedman Auditorium; 2002 a building at NSA was named for her & William; 2014 ATF National Headquarters Auditorium was named for her; 2019 the US Senate passed a resolution honoring her & her legacy; 2020 US Coast Guard announced they were naming the next 11th Legend-Class National Security Cutter after her
Achievements: special agent for US Treasury; 1925, broke the code used by bootleggers, cracking over 12,000 messages & breaking 24 different codes resulting in convictions for 35 bootleggers including Al Capone; worked with US Coast Guard during WWII, cracked 3 Nazi codes & discovered a plot to overthrow South American leaders & replace them with Nazis; instrumental in cracking the code used by Velvalee Malvena Dickinson known as the "Doll Woman" a Japanese spy who ultimately received a 10 year prison sentence; cracked a Nazi code & revealed a plot to attack the Queen Mary which ultimately saved over 8,000 US soldiers on board; with husband William developed new codebreaking strategies, published in eight booklets (only 2 of which bore her name as she preferred to give credit to William), which became the foundation of the modern science of cryptology;
over the course of her career for the United States Treasury, Coast Guard, Navy and Army, and the International Monetary Fund
has been called "America's first female cryptanalyst"
dropped out of Wooster college in 1913 because her mother was ill & transferred to Hillsdale College
began working at Riverbank Laboratories in Geneva, Illinois, in 1916; it was one of the first facilities in the U.S. established to study cryptography
at Riverbank worked on a project to prove Sir Francis Bacon had written Shakespeare's plays and sonnets
during WWI she & her husband William developed many of the principles of modern cryptology
1921 the Friedmans went to work for the War Department in Washington DC
1971 she donated her own papers, which are now known as The Elizebeth Smith Friedman Collection at the Marshall Foundation
worked on behalf of statehood for the District of Columbia
signed an oath with the U.S. Navy promising to keep her role in World War II secret until her death & her papers weren't declassified until 2008
is known to have been a hairdresser, seamstress, and fashion consultant
her mother didn't want her to be nicknamed "Eliza" & hence the odd spelling of her 1st name
in college also studied Latin, Greek, and German
1916 was recruited by George Fabyan to work on his 500-acre estate at Riverbank, his private "think tank" to prove Bacon really wrote the works attributed to Shakespeare
1931 she convinced Congress of the need to establish a cryptology department within the government
introduced her husband who is better known for his cryptology skills to the field after they married
after her husband's death compiled all his cryptology works (including hers) into the largest library of cryptology works known to man & donated them to the George C. Marshall Research Library in Lexington, Virginia
1937 used her code-breaking skills to assist the Canadian government in breaking an opium operation in Canada
was the youngest of 10 children born into a Quaker family (1 of the children died in infancy)
was only the 2nd child in the family allowed to attend college
although her father was opposed to her attending college (he felt women had no need for an education) he agreed to fund her college classes after she agreed to pay him back with 6% interest
by 1931 led the Coast Guards first official codebreaking unit
during WWII her unit broke the codes on about 50 Nazi radio circuits, including at least two protected with Enigma machines but J. Edgar Hoover took credit for her accomplishments which weren't really released to the public until 2008 when her documents were declassified
1958 the NSA sent agents to the Friedmans’ house on Capitol Hill and confiscated dozens of papers from their library, even old papers going all the way back to World War I & labelled them national security threats-a move they were humiliated by given their loyalty & work for the government during 2 World Wars
was also a poet, a scholar of both Shakespeare and Mayan archaeology
1st code they broke for the military was the Zimmerman Telegram sent to Mexico from Germany suggesting an alliance against the USA in exchange for the return of Texas & other property ceded to the USA
during WWII her supervisor was a navy lieutenant who received most of the credit for her work, it was only after her work was declassified that her initials, esf, were noted on the bottom of her work that enabled her to finally receive credit