Joseph Oswald Mauborgne (February 26, 1881 – June 7, 1971) co-invented the

one-time pad In cryptography, the one-time pad (OTP) is an encryption technique that cannot be cracked, but requires the use of a single-use pre-shared key that is not smaller than the message being sent. In this technique, a plaintext is paired with a ran ...

with

Gilbert Vernam Gilbert Sandford Vernam (April 3, 1890 – February 7, 1960) was a Worcester Polytechnic Institute 1914 graduate and AT&T Bell Labs engineer who, in 1917, invented an additive polyalphabetic stream cipher and later co-invented an automated on ...

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

. In 1914 he published the first recorded solution of the

Playfair cipher The Playfair cipher or Playfair square or Wheatstone–Playfair cipher is a manual symmetric encryption technique and was the first literal digram substitution cipher. The scheme was invented in 1854 by Charles Wheatstone, but bears the name of ...

. Mauborgne became a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and from October 1937 to his retirement in 1941 was the Army's 12th Chief Signal Officer, in command of the Signal Corps.

Biography

Mauborgne was born on February 26, 1881 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to Eugene and Catherine Elizabeth McLaughlin Mauborgne. After graduating in 1901 from the College of Saint Xavier in New York, he studied fine arts until commissioned a 2d Lieutenant, Infantry, in the regular Army in 1903. Stationed in the Philippines several times at several infantry posts, Mauborgne attended the Army Signal School at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, in 1909-1910, graduating from the Signal Officers Course, followed by a tour of duty in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in the office of Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General George P. Scriven. While stationed at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gear ...

, Kansas, in 1912, he installed a radio transmitter in an airplane and had 1st Lt.

Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...

send him the first successful air to ground radio transmission on November 2. Two years later, while in command of the radio station at

Fort Mills Fort Mills ( Corregidor, the Philippines) was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays in early World War II, and was the largest seacoast f ...

Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

, Mauborgne went up himself with 2nd Lt. Herbert A. "Bert" Dargue in a

Burgess Model I __NOTOC__ The Burgess Model I, also known as the ''Burgess I-Scout'' and the ''Coast Defense Hydroaeroplane'', was a United States reconnaissance seaplane built for the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps in 1913. It was of conventional Wrigh ...

seaplane to conduct a series of experimental flight tests of an airborne radio, and made the first two-way radio telegraphy between an airplane and a station on the ground on December 16, 1914. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in the 1920s and 1930s, Mauborgne pursued communication advancements in numerous research-and-development assignments, including a stint as chief of the Signal Corps Engineering and Research Division and as commander of the Signal Corps laboratory in the

Bureau of Standards A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...

. During the early 1930s, Mauborgne was Signal Officer for the 9th

Corps Area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...

and later Director of the Signal Corps Aircraft Factory,

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Loca ...

, Ohio. He attended the Army War College during its 1931-32 academic session. In 1937, as a Signal Corps officer, he used a

Dictaphone Dictaphone was an American company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that produced dictation machines. It is now a division of Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Although the name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, it has bec ...

to record Japanese radio signals at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. As Chief of Signal, Mauborgne supported technological development and oversaw the mass production of the SCR-268 and

SCR-270 The SCR-270 (Set Complete Radio model 270) was one of the first operational early-warning radars. It was the U.S. Army's primary long-distance radar throughout World War II and was deployed around the world. It is also known as the Pearl Harbor ...

Army

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

s. Just a few months after he retired (September 30, 1941), two Signal Corps soldiers — using an SCR-270 radar at

Oahu, Hawaii Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

in the early morning of December 7, 1941 — spotted Japanese aircraft on their way in to attack

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

. In addition to his professional study, Mauborgne attended the

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

in 1922-1923. Returning to Washington D.C. in 1923 he continued his art studies at the Corcoran Art Gallery between 1923 and 26. Portraits and etchings produced by Mauborgne were exhibited in galleries in Washington, San Francisco, and Dayton, Ohio; acquired by the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, and sold to private collections. Mauborgne reached the mandatory retirement age in October 1941 and retired near

Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. T ...

, New Jersey. Among his interests were music and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

-making, for which he won an international competition in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in 1949. During his early career, Mauborgne was a recognized marksman, on the "Distinguished Shooters" list of the

Civilian Marksmanship Program The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a U.S. government-chartered program intended to promote firearm safety training and rifle practice for all qualified U.S. citizens with a specific emphasis on youth. Any U.S. citizen not otherwise legal ...

. Mauborgne married Katherine Hale Poore in December 1907, and had two sons, one of whom was also a career Army officer. Mauborgne moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, in ill health in 1970 and died on June 7, 1971. He was buried in Andersonville National Cemetery. General Mauborgne is a member of the

Military Intelligence Hall of Fame The Military Intelligence Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army in 1988 to honor soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to military intelligence. The hall is ...

. General Mauborgne is also known as "The Cubic General".

Awards and decorations

Army Distinguished Service Medal citation

:General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 81 (1919) :Action Date: World War I :Service: Army :Rank: Lieutenant Colonel :Organization: Chief, Engineering and Research Division :Division: Signal Corps The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

to Lieutenant Colonel (Signal Corps) Joseph O. Mauborgne, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As head of the Engineering and Research Division of the Signal Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Mauborgne rendered conspicuous in connection with coordinating the design and supply of new technical apparatus for the Signal Corps. He was largely responsible for the high type of radio equipment developed for the American Army and rendered unusual service in connection with cipher telegraphy.

Sources

External links

*
Joseph O. Mauborgne
Civilian Marksmanship Club biography

U.S. Army biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauborgne, Joseph 1971 deaths 1881 births Pre-computer cryptographers United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Distinguished Marksman Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army Xavier High School (New York City) alumni United States Army War College alumni