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The American Black Chamber
''The American Black Chamber'' is a 1931 book by Herbert O. Yardley. The book describes the inner workings of the interwar American governmental cryptography organization called the Black Chamber. The cryptography historian David Kahn called the book "the most famous book on cryptology ever published." By describing the inner workings of the organization, the book created large interest and heightened public awareness of the United States's cryptographic abilities. In particular, the Japanese government became aware of the extent of experience that the American government had with cryptography and increased the strength of their own knowledge in cryptography in response. Reviewers suggested the book may have cost the United States significantly in the Pacific theater against Japan in World War II. The book was made into a film titled Rendezvous (1935 film) starring William Powell and Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American act ...
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Herbert O
Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territory, a rural locality * Herbert, South Australia. former government town * Division of Herbert, an electoral district in Queensland * Herbert River, a river in Queensland * County of Herbert, a cadastral unit in South Australia Canada * Herbert, Saskatchewan, Canada, a town * Herbert Road, St. Albert, Canada New Zealand * Herbert, New Zealand, a town * Mount Herbert (New Zealand) United States * Herbert, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Herbert, Michigan, a former settlement * Herbert Creek, a stream in South Dakota * Herbert Island, Alaska Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Herbert (Disney character) * Herbert Pocket (''Great Expectations'' character), Pip's close friend and roommate in the Cha ...
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Black Chamber
The Black Chamber (1919–1929), also known as the Cipher Bureau, was the United States' first peacetime cryptanalytic organization, and a forerunner of the National Security Agency. The only prior codes and cypher organizations maintained by the US government had been some intermittent, and always abandoned, attempts by Armed Forces branches prior to World War I. History Headed by Herbert O. Yardley (1889–1958), the Black Chamber was founded in May 1919 following World War I. Yardley had commanded the U.S. Army cryptographic section of Military Intelligence (MI-8) during World War I. MI-8 was disbanded after the war. Jointly funded by the Army and the State Department, the Cipher Bureau was disguised as a New York City commercial code company; it actually produced and sold such codes for business use. Its true mission, however, was to break the communications (chiefly diplomatic) of other nations. During the Washington Naval Conference, it aided American negotiators by pro ...
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David Kahn (writer)
David Kahn (b. February 7, 1930* ) is an American historian, journalist, and writer. He has written extensively on the history of cryptography and military intelligence. Kahn's first published book, '' The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing'' (1967), has been widely considered to be a definitive account of the history of cryptography. Biography David Kahn was born in New York City to Florence Abraham Kahn, a glass manufacturer, and Jesse Kahn, a lawyer. Kahn has said he traces his interest in cryptography to reading Fletcher Pratt's ''Secret and Urgent'' as a boy. Kahn is a founding editor of the '' Cryptologia'' journal. In 1969, Kahn married Susanne Fiedler; they are now divorced. They have two sons, Oliver and Michael. He attended Bucknell University. After graduation, he worked as a reporter at ''Newsday''. He also served as an editor at the ''International Herald Tribune'' in Paris in the 1960s. It was during this period that he wrote an article for the ''New ...
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The Codebreakers
''The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing'' () is a book by David Kahn, published in 1967, comprehensively chronicling the history of cryptography from ancient Egypt to the time of its writing. The United States government attempted to have the book altered before publication, and it succeeded in part.Pineau, Roger (1996). The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing by David Kahn, internal CIA book review by Roger Pineau, ca. 1967, released to public 1996. Retrieved fro Overview Bradford Hardie III, an American cryptographer during World War II, contributed insider information, German translations from original documents, and intimate real-time operational explanations to ''The Codebreakers''. ''The Codebreakers'' is widely regarded as the best account of the history of cryptography up to its publication. William P. Crowell, William Crowell, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, was quoted in ''Newsday'' magazine: "Before he (Kahn) came along, th ...
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Rendezvous (1935 Film)
''Rendezvous'' is a 1935 American spy film set in World War I, directed by William K. Howard, starring William Powell and Rosalind Russell and featuring Binnie Barnes, Lionel Atwill, Cesar Romero and Samuel S. Hinds. Powell plays an American cryptologist who tangles with German spies while falling in love. The film's screenplay by P. J. Wolfson and George Oppenheimer was based on '' The Blonde Countess'', a 1933 novel by Herbert Yardley, founder and head of the Black Chamber, as adapted by Bella and Samuel Spewack. Plot In April 1917, former newspaperman William Gordon (William Powell) is commissioned in the U.S. Army. The day before he is to leave Washington, D.C. for France, he meets socialite Joel Carter (Rosalind Russell) at an embassy gathering. The couple spend the day together where Gordon confides that because he once wrote a book on cryptography under a pen name, the army is searching for him to put him to work behind a desk, but he is eager to get into the fighting. Jus ...
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William Powell
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for ''The Thin Man (film), The Thin Man'' (1934), ''My Man Godfrey'' (1936), and ''Life with Father (film), Life with Father'' (1947). Early life Born in Pittsburgh in 1892, William Powell was the only child of Nettie Manila (née Brady) and Horatio Warren Powell, who worked as an accountant."Obituaries: William Powell, star of 'Thin Man' films", ''Chicago Tribune'', March 6, 1984, p. N6. Retrieved via ProQuest Historical Newspapers through subscription access at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, January 31, 2022. In 1907, young William moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated ...
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Rosalind Russell
Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary ''Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy ''His Girl Friday'' (1940), opposite Cary Grant, as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in ''Auntie Mame'' (1958) and Rose in ''Gypsy'' (1962). A noted comedienne, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1953 for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show ''Wonderful Town'' (a musical based on the film ''My Sister Eileen'', in which she also starred). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times during her career before being awarded a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973. In addition to her comedic roles, Russell was known for playing dramatic characters, often wealthy, dignified, and stylish women. ...
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History Of Cryptography
Cryptography, the use of codes and ciphers to protect secrets, began thousands of years ago. Until recent decades, it has been the story of what might be called classical cryptography — that is, of methods of encryption that use pen and paper, or perhaps simple mechanical aids. In the early 20th century, the invention of complex mechanical and electromechanical machines, such as the Enigma rotor machine, provided more sophisticated and efficient means of encryption; and the subsequent introduction of electronics and computing has allowed elaborate schemes of still greater complexity, most of which are entirely unsuited to pen and paper. The development of cryptography has been paralleled by the development of cryptanalysis — the "breaking" of codes and ciphers. The discovery and application, early on, of frequency analysis to the reading of encrypted communications has, on occasion, altered the course of history. Thus the Zimmermann Telegram triggered the United States' en ...
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1931 Non-fiction Books
Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. * January 25 – Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India. * January 27 – Pierre Laval forms a government in France. February * February 4 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars, while "weak" nations are "beaten". Stalin states: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us." The first five-year plan in the Soviet Union is intensified, for the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. * February 10 – Official ...
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