Russell Willson Vice Admiral Russell Willson ( December 27 , 1883 , Fredonia , New York – June 6 , 1948 , Chevy Chase , Maryland ) was a flag officer of the United States Navy and inventor of the Navy Cipher Box ( also called ' Naval Cipher Box ' or ' Navy Code Box ' ) issued in 1917 . The son of Sidney Louis Willson and Lucy Fenton Staats Willson , Russell Willson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1901 - 1902 , before going on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1906 . Career . After graduating from the naval academy , Wilson was commissioned an ensign in 1908 . He served in the battleship during the Vera Cruz Incident at Vera Cruz , Mexico , in 1914 and later as flag lieutenant to Admiral Henry Mayo , who was Commander - in - Chief , United States Atlantic Fleet . World War I . During World War I , Willson organized and developed the Navy ' s Code Signal Section in the United States Department of the Navy , for which he was awarded the Navy Cross . He served with the Sixth Battle Squadron of the Royal Navy s Grand Fleet at the end of World War I . Interwar Years . Willson commanded destroyers at Greenland in connection with the United States Army s around - the - world flight . He graduated from the Naval War College in 1924 and was a member of the U . S . Naval Mission to Brazil from 1927 to 1930 . He served as naval attache at the United States Embassy in London in 1937 and 1938 . Rear Admiral Willson was the last commander of Battleship Division 1 in peacetime prior to the start of World War II . On 26 May 1939 , he relieved Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz as ComBatDiv1 , and was relieved 23 January 1941 by Rear Admiral Isaac C . Kidd , who died on the division flagship , , in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . World War II . On 1 February 1941 , Willson became the superintendent of the United States Naval Academy . After the start of World War II , Willson , who had served on Admiral Mayo ' s staff with Ernest J . King became the chief of staff to King in his role as Commander in Chief , U . S . Fleet ( COMINCH ) on 30 December 1941 , Willson , taking office the day that King assumed that command . In September 1942 , Willson was detached for duty with the United States Pacific Fleet , but before he could report to his new assignment was found medically unfit for sea duty . As a result , he retired in January 1943 , but was retained in Washington , D . C . , for the duration of the war as Deputy Commander - in - Chief , U . S . Fleet . He also served from November 1942 as the naval member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee for the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Willson was a principal at several of the wartime conferences between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill . He was also a member of the U . S . delegation at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and military advisor at the San Francisco Conference . After World War II , Willson become associate editor of " World Report " . Personal life . An Episcopalian , Russell Willson married Eunice Westcott Willson ( 1884 – 1962 ) on 3 June 1911 . They had a son , Russell , and two daughters , Eunice and Mary . Lt . Russell Willson , Jr . ( 1919 – 1945 ) , USN , was a naval aviator , and Eunice Willson ( 1912 - 2011 ) worked for the Navy for several years as a cryptanalyst . Russell Willson and his wife , as well as Russell Willson , Jr . , are buried together in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis , Maryland . Decorations . Navy Cross citation . The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Russell Willson , United States Navy , for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility in connection with the preparation , handling , and distribution of war codes and for devising a new and very efficient system of such communications during World War I .