• REF ID :A7010' 

Dr. Julian P. Boyd 

Pr1rlcetorj l..:nlvers1 t1 Library 

Pr1.hceton, New Jersey 

Dear Lr. Boy&i: 

424 N. George Mason D1-\ve 

.A.rltnt?;ton, Va. 

12 JJ:.nutry 1950 

nece~ .. ·t uf your letter 01· 10 Jimuar7 is acknowledged. 

':he only sugs;est1or1 t .bnve for a 1JO£s1ble chcne;e ln the pro~os~d statement 1s 1n respect to the footnote, wtth a v1ew 

to clarif1ci..•t1on or rhtht:'r the el1m1nAt1on or what rutght be an ambi~u1t1. A quick perusal of tbe footnote glv~a the 1m!~resston 

thht the 1'eecona. invent.or 1n tne f1.eld 1

' ts "ll1ll1A& F. Fr~.ed&an -- an im~resslon which 1s dtsat,t.;e.ted onlJ on closer study. Tt 

mlght be better to make 1t perrectl7 clear that the quoted 

matter ts an extract trom a ''commun1or!t1on to tb.e ed\.tore. '' 

T11ereto.re I suggest th,&t the ;.;arenthet1c~l portilon or the 

footnote be made to read a1 follows: 

.•• a second inventor in the fteld. 0 (F.xtr~cted 

trom a commun1c~t1on to the edttors, 17 Nov. 1949, 

from \dlliaai f. lo'rledman, Cal et ot the 'Techn1c8l 

Division, Armed Forces Security Ag~nc1, Washington.) 

I trust ·~hb.t you will not deem m7 suggestion pedantic and th~t it will meet with your concurrence. 

In closing I v1ah to say that I teel ver1 much repaid tor 

the t.1 t of effort that went into the drafting of m7 c 1:>m.uenter1, 

since you have seemed it tittlng to plaoe Jefferson's orypto- graphia 1nvent1on ln such distlnguisbed oompan7 with bla 

dratting ot the DeclarNtion ot Independenoe aa evidences ot 

bis .,elevated and even 1nsp1red intellect." 

Sincerely 7our1, 

WILL I.AM F. tR IttM AN 

@'pproved for Release by NSA on 03-27-2014 pursuant to E.O. 1352e 
REF ID:A70103 • 

Dr. Julian P. Boyd Princeton On1vera1t1 Ltbrary 

Princeton, New Jer1e7 

Dear Dr. Boyd: 

•2• M. George Maaon Drive 

Arlington, Va. 

& Januar7 1960 

Reoe1pt of 1our letter ot 27 December 1949 1• aoknovlldgecl. 

It 1• not often tbat a man recelve1 an apology vblch 1• 

ao tlattering in nature that he la truly glad to tind b1maelt 

1n a situation oalllng tor one! Under the cirowa1ianoea aaor1be4 1n explanation ot the delay in replying to •1 letter ot 

17 November, I •• glad 'o abare aome ot tbe reapon11btllt7 therefor. I hardly expected that •7 oo .. entar1 would meei vitb 

euoh approval and apprectatlon as you 1nd1oate. 

I bave, of oour1e, no objeot1on at all to your referring 

to m7 commentary in the Introduction to Volume l. Indee4, I am 

more than plea1ed that you tind 1t ot auttlclent interest an4 

merit to mention 1t 1n what muat be a ver, eucb attenuated bird•-

eye view ot the vbol• project. 

A• to m7 title, although the general nature ot my position has not changed in ~an7 yeare, the tltle ot ottioe ha• gone through a good man1 meta•orphose1. OurrentlJ, I am Chie! of the 

Technical D1v1aton, Armed rorce1 Seourlt7 Ageno7. It would be 

proper to employ, it you v11b, tbe tl'l• 1 0olonel• although I 

received m1 honorable dlecnarce troa aotlve 1erv1oe va7 back in 

early.19•1. I aa on the honorar1 retired ott1oer1 11at. 

It you have no obJectton, I would 11ke to have the opportun1 ty to revlev yo'1r proposed mention of •1 commentar1, ln paa11m, ln the Introduction. I might a4d '1lat I tound it de11rable to 

requeet pera11a1on trom h1gber autbor1tJ to prepare the 0<>1111entary -- 1 aeour1t7 oonalderet1ona, and all tbat aort or thing, you &now. 1 I am supposed to k•ep ent1rel7 out ot print and to have 

a real paaa1on tor anonymlt7! 

Thank you tor your courteous 1nY1tat1on 'o •tali tbe Library and to 1~end a rev mtnutea with you. But I don't get around much 

the1e days. r•m hoping that this will not be the o••• ~or loag, bowever, and that I oan some day ma~e up to~ several 1eara ot 

a aomewhat Yegetat1Ye aob111tJ. 

Thanking you tor your very nloe letter, I a.a 

Sincerely youre, 

WILLIAM F. rRtEDMMI 
, .. ~-

....... :...- • REF ID:A70103 • 

Dr. Julian ?. Boyd ?rinceton Un1Tera1tJ Library Prlnoeton, New Jereey 

Dear Dr. Boyd: 

424 H. George Maaon Dr. 

Arlington, Va • 

.M" Nof ember 1949 

A couple of yeare baYe passed alnce our excbange ot lett~rs on th• aubJect of ray prppar1ng a br\et oollllnentary 

on Jefferson's 1Wbeel Cypher." 

tn your last letter, dated 11 September 1947, you lndioated that it would be seTeral 1ears before you reaob 

the volumes 1n wh1ob the c\pber documents will be publlsb- ~d. Although I felt that there was no urgena1 in the 

preparation ot my oommentary, I nevertheleas at onoe set 

myaelt to wrtttng tne p1eoe. In the course or dv\ng so, 

two things happened. Ftrst, some questions aroe~ ae to the 

exaot dates at conception ot the tdentioal device by two 

American inventors oth•r than Jettereon. Stnce the gentlemen in question were both old friends ot mine, and still 

among the 11v1ng, t vro'• to tnem, thus obta1n1ng Taluable, 

autbent1o data whioh were 1noorporated in my account. Not 

only that, out I thRn 1ent th~ dratt of my commentary to 

ootb or tilem and prof1te4 by tht?lr review thereot. 

lae next thing iba' happened, soon atter complptlng the 

pieoe, was that I had a alege ot 1llne11 which made any 1 extra-ourr1oular1 activity a burden eo I put the piece aside. i'ow that I .1Jm reooverlng, I dug 1 t out the ether daf 

and a~ enclosing 1t herewith, tor your eoruttny. 

t ~no~ th~t you ~i•b to llmlt the oommentary to ftve 

hundred words, preferably l•••· t tear I bave tailed rather 

badl7 1n my attempt to 1ta1 w1thtn the limit aet, and sug~eat 

that you may be 1n a be,ter pos1t1on to tailor the piece to 

your neede than am I. dowPv~r, tt you prefer that t do the 

tr1mmtng, 1Jlea1e do not hes1 tate to return 1 t and t will try 

my best. 

I am planning to WJ'~te a compl~te story ot thta device 

ror Dougla~e AJatr, 1n connection wtth a muoh longer artlole 

\ 
. ~ 

-· 

.... - c .. ~ • REF ID:A70103 • Lett~r to Dr. Julian P. Boyd 

tor the William end :~ery Q.uarterl1. It was VP.ry 60od ot 

you to suggest to Dr. Adair that he propoee to m~ the 

preparation er an article on c1phera ot the period ca. 1800, 

tor the Quart~rly and I am about to Pmbark on that piece. 

It sh~ul~ be tntPrest1ng to wrlte; T hope it will also be 

lntFresttng to read. 

~ltn cordlal greetlngs, I am 

Sincerely yours, 

Encl. WtLL tAY. F. FRTF.Dtl.AN 

2 
.- . • REF ID:A70103 

' 

CoamenSarz on Jefferson•s 'Whe!l Cxpber' 

Jettfllr&Jn' a 1nYentlon .ir the \Wilfel Cxpb.-r re~;reaente a 

oontrlbutton to cr7ptogra,.blo ac\enoe 10 tar in advance ot 

all t1m111 tnat ai leaat a centur7 had to elapee betore a 

•lmllar tnvenilon w•• independentl1 made b1 a second 1n_ 

Tentor in the tteld. The ascertP-lnsble teats are usetul in 

asseas\ng Jetteraon'a 1ngenu1ty end p~reptoectt1 ae a 

th~orPt\ohl ae well as a prl"ct1cnl cryptogrevhe11r. 

Lacking a:··eC1f1c lnf=>r'lll!tlon 8S to th,. gttnf"fl8 or h1• 

1nvPntlon, w~ can only otte~ surm\~es. Tnsi Jetr~raon round 

r.U;"ilf'rous occeslons tor employl.ng cry;.itogra;..•h7 1n ht• otft.olal 

oorres~ondenoe, part1oular17 wh~n h• ves tn Fr~nce, ls 

abunoently cleer. Tn tn~se da1s thPr~ were ln g~nPral 

assge only 11~.:;ut a helf dozen m_.thode ot P.eoret communicatlon. tn addttton to tnPtr techntcal vulnerability, which 

tu.• pl'obably a1certs.1ned tor h\.csfllt e1ttl~r bf e:i.eculetlon 

or b7 exμeriment•t\on, Je!teraon undoubtedlJ found aucb 

mP.tl'lc.>u e very cumbersome and ted1.ous 1n practtce. tt appears 

logical, theret'or•c, tbet a man end.oved w\. in a tlf· 1r tor invention w~uld •xerctse h1t \~•~lnftlve faculi1~a 1n a search 

:or bt-tter metnod1. It 11 probablP tnet the Wheel Cxpber 

c~ •. np to h1m in a sinele br1111Ein~ f'lt~ah of lmagtnat1on an4 

ln s compl~te1y v11ue11zed e~bo~tm~nt, for the underlying 
- - - - - 

_,. ~ • REF ID:A70103 • 

~~ 

cr7ptograμh1c ~r1nclple1 ar• bJ no meane obTtoue or eucb 

aa would emerge gradually end n&turally trom ~or~tng wltb 

tbe ueu11l two el 1.d1ng alpMbr:ota or wlth tables ot alphabet• 

eucn as t~ose comprlslng the eo-c~ll•d Vtgenere $quare. 

r,ev~rtr1elesa, Jetterson • ! t\.rst dPe.ortptton ot ht.a ;Jro;;oaed 

uevt.ce g tv~ti c LP.cir P.Vldence ot tm::>rovlng -;ne 1nYf:nt1.on as 

hP ~•e tl~sorl~lne it. A e~cond d~aor1pt1on, 8lao round tn 

hie ..,£~;.•+ ... rs, ls :11PrPly a olP1:1n c0pl ilt th• tlrst. It wuulCJ 

bP. hle:nly lnt!!'re!•ting to ltnow whPtner Jf!ff Preon ever aonttruct~~ or uPed tn~ deY1c•; out on theee potnts, too, tne 

record te a complP.te blanlt. 

T~e VPr~ earl1e•t published descr1pt1on of a dAv\ce al1n'.>!t 10.enttoe.l wltb tne one Jf"tf"rson proposed 11 round 1n 

a booir.1 wr1. it en b~ a F·rencl'l cry;.:tograpner, Commsndeni 8aaerle1, 

a.la,ost exactly a centur7 stt-.r Jeffpraon wrot~ hill d.escrlptlon~ 

dazertes g\v~e a rstner dete1led acc~unt ~t tn~ events leading t1.1 tits 1nVPnt1.on of !!. cr_y:viogrE-plle 1!.tllndr!,gue. !t 11 

quite OPrtetn that he oould not heve ~novn ot J~ttereon•s 

1nTer.~1..on 1:.nd it 18 equell;v Ct?rt.u\n that there wea noth1ng ln 

orypt..o0rbt nto 11terl.ture whloh mtgnt have augg1?ated the r;11me 

baste iaes..!= to both 1nvrntora. Not only .arP the .St~:i!r·to,.t~t?tle 

c;tllplrlgye an1.1 the WhP.el p_ypbef td.en'ttcsl 1n princl):'ltt but 

aleo they are elmllar in tn~lr respeotl•• pb1stc•l embojl~en~s 

tnd 1nstructtons tar U!t.g~. Put Jettereon's dPYlc~ was ~Jr~ 

--~- f 

1. L~s Cn1ttre1 S~crPts Devoil~a. Paris, lJOl, pp. 250-261. 
·. 

• REF ID:A70103 • 

. .. 

1eoure beoauae be Pl'DPole4 H •vaeela, • viler••• 8aaerl••' 

4eY\oe ba4 but 20. 

· t' l~ .. ot 1n'lereet to note iba' 8a1erle11 esrne1' en4ea'fOl'8 

10 ba•• ht• deY\ce adopted. b7 tht Frenob ArliJ w81'• tru1,1e11. . . 

II l• eq..-11,·. 1niere1,lni ~o. noi.a that· tn .1921 tile U. · 9 .Ar•J . . . . 

oo .. eno-4 u1tng a 499'lo• \dent \~al ln r,rlnct~l• rum.· .oone\ruotlon· w1in tne one 1n'f~nie4 bJ ~aa~r\es, bu\ th~ U. S •. A'r'flJ o I o• 

·deY\oe h8.~ lte orl&ln ln nellb~r Baz~rtel 1 n~r Jetter1on1 1 • • • I • • 

cleaar\ t..t1ona :..- ttw ~ame lr•Yentlon wee conce1'f•'1 1ndependentl.J 

• tbll't1 ·~• ~oselblJ, a tourt~ tta•, b7 two off1cera or tbe . . 

· 11:. s. krQ. ~1· 1930, 'b• Arct.1 dnt~• w1 be1n~ used b7 tbe 

oiber &erY·\088 Of •be U. 9. · . · ... 

Jeti•rson• 1 Vht•l Czph.tt£. W..1 an e~lnen,11 i;rsc'tloal 

4•v\oe anJ. t.'.» hl• )»elon11 t!'!e·credlt uo' onl1 ror the tlrst . . . . . ~ .. 

·Am~rt.oao 1riYent~on· ln tb• or1 t."0rapblo ttel4 but filao tor an 

1rt••ut,1on wntctt ua·9o tar ln ~u•anoe ot \be eiate ot tbe ari 

tn-t 1 t 0~1.11 ~ b.e •'!.looeaetul.11 '!!!llpl..,¥94 OYer 11 o•r,t1.1r1 le,F.·r 01 

.ttie'"•a.flu r'or~ee ot hls o_,untr7, nQt f'or • 1••r ~1' two, but 

tor 20 year•. rt la 1ate to s117 t!u.t hflQ tJ. s. oouuu~oRtt.on• 

••P~o1ed nt•i r·rtnctple 1oon et1i1PI'. he ·aoiacet•e4' lt, .they wo~l4 

ha.Ye beer1 tar m.,r .. 9~cur• &g11!~At unau\llOrtz..S.. rudlq t.ban · 

'h•I were for et :ee1t a ~rt'd jP.ore thereat•er. 

Tbe emlnt!nt poet ts.oil Jtitft•l:".£0~' e lnYttin,1on oooupl•• ln 

_th• rula of e191ptop-apbto 4wt.o•• and ~n \be bl•tor1 of 

a 
.- • REF ID:A70...l,.03 

• I 

cry~toe;rt~h7 11 well d~srrY•d. H11 aatuteneee 1n recognizing 

the w-er:tnPs~es cf tr.~ :lP-th·;dg l!t.'tf:loye~ 1.n hie <'-•J plece1 htm 

far !:h"ad of t~at otl'!Pr t.a:r·r~.crin ~Pn'lu~ rcr vhot1 cry~to;rflpbf 

E lso hli.o i:.. rasc1ati.tton -- E'.dgn.r ;.11en Poe. Ttle lt.tter, so rar 

es 1• ~n:>wn, neTFr lrw•nttd s ~tt.hPr ·'-evtoe or sy3t,.11 but 

~ut 1nveinted. o ot t:·her d"vt oe And Ry st~m eat1ar11ng tbe mo et 

tmportent re-q\ltre11ients ot eecur\t7, e1mpl1c1ty, and t'lP.x•.t\11tJ. 

,., I LL.. !AM F. FtU 11:.UM AU 

".f/e ant ngton 

17 NOVP.iDber 1949 

4