Huntington in Huntington County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Elizebeth Smith Friedman
1892-1980
Photographed By Willard McKinzie, August 26, 2021
1. Elizebeth Smith Friedman Marker
Pioneering cryptanalyst Elizebeth Friedman was born in Huntington. She developed her skill in codebreaking while searching for supposed hidden messages Shakespeare’s plays at Riverbank Laboratories in Illinois in the 1910s. There, she and her husband William invented new techniques for modern cryptology and taught U.S. military officers how to break codes in WWI.
During the 1920s-1930s. Friedman destroyed crime rings by breaking the codes of prohibition rum runners and international drug smugglers. She led and trained the U.S. Coast Guard’s cryptanalytic unit vital to the U.S. Navy and FBI. In WWI she decrypted Nazi radio messages sent to spies in South America, helping capture the agents and weaken the Axis alliance.
Erected 2021 by Indiana Historical Bureau, City of Huntington, Indiana University, Justin Troutman, Jason Fagone, Tim Dierks, and Family and Friends of Elizebeth Friedman.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • War, World I
Photographed By Willard McKinzie, August 26, 2021
2. Elizebeth Smith Friedman Marker
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Location. 40° 52.708′ N, 85° 30.37′ W. Marker is in Huntington, Indiana, in Huntington County. Marker is on West Park Drive (Business U.S. 24) 0.1 miles west of Dimond Street, on the right when traveling west. Located at the Huntington County Veterans Memorial. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1125 W Park Dr, Huntington IN 46750, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Order of the Purple Heart (a few steps from this marker); WWII Sherman Tank (within shouting distance of this marker); In Memory of All Vietnam Veterans (within shouting distance of this marker); Taps (within shouting distance of this marker); Huntington Korean War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Huntington Vietnam War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Operation Iraqi Freedom Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntington.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2021, by Willard McKinzie of Huntington, Indiana. This page has been viewed 227 times since then and 84 times this year. Last updated on February 28, 2022, by Justin Troutman of San Ramon, California. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 26, 2021, by Willard McKinzie of Huntington, Indiana. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
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