Elizebeth Friedman

Elizebeth Friedman
Elizebeth Friedman
Born	Elizebeth Smith (1892-08-26)August 26, 1892 Huntington, Indiana
Died	October 31, 1980(1980-10-31) (aged 88) Plainfield, New Jersey
Known for	cryptanalyst, author

Elizebeth Smith Friedman (August 26, 1892 – October 31, 1980) was a cryptanalyst and author, and a pioneer in U.S. cryptography. She has been dubbed "America's first female cryptanalyst".

She was the wife of William F. Friedman, a notable cryptographer credited with numerous contributions to cryptology, whom she introduced to the field. She also enjoyed many successes in her own right.

Born in Huntington, Indiana to John M. Smith, a Quaker dairyman, banker, and politician, and Sopha Strock Smith, Elizebeth Friedman was the youngest of nine children. The unusual spelling of her name (more commonly spelled "Elizabeth") is attributed to her mother, who disliked the prospect of Elizebeth ever being called "Eliza."

After briefly attending The College of Wooster in Ohio, she graduated from Hillsdale College in Michigan with a major in English literature and was also a member of Pi Beta Phi. Having exhibited her interest in languages, she had also studied Latin, Greek, and German, and minored "in a great many other things." Only she and one other sibling were privileged to attend college.

Elizebeth Friedman (then Elizebeth Smith) was interviewed by a librarian at Riverbank Laboratories, who then spoke with Colonel George Fabyan, who owned Riverbank. The librarian conveyed Smith's love for Shakespeare, among other things, to Fabyan. Fabyan, a wealthy textile merchant, soon met Friedman, and they discussed what life would be like at Riverbank, Fabyan's great estate located in Geneva, Illinois. He told her that she would assist a Boston woman, Elizabeth Wells Gallup and her sister with Gallup's attempt to prove that Sir Francis Bacon had written Shakespeare's plays and sonnets by decrypting enciphered messages that were supposed to have been contained within the plays and poems.