Agnes Meyer Driscoll facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Agnes Meyer Driscoll
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| Born | July 24, 1889 |
| Died | September 16, 1971 |
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Agnes Meyer Driscoll (born July 24, 1889 – died September 16, 1971) was an amazing American codebreaker. She was known as "Miss Aggie" or "Madame X." People also called her "the first lady of naval cryptology." She helped the United States Navy break secret codes during World War I and World War II.
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Agnes Driscoll's Early Life
Agnes Meyer Driscoll was born in Geneseo, Illinois, in 1889. When she was six, her family moved to Westerville, Ohio. Her father, Gustav Meyer, taught music at Otterbein College. Their family home later became a museum and local history center.
Agnes Driscoll's Education
Agnes was a very smart student. She went to Otterbein College from 1907 to 1909. In 1911, she earned a degree from the Ohio State University. She studied math and physics, but also learned many languages. She could speak English, French, German, Latin, and Japanese! After college, she taught music and math in Amarillo, Texas.
Starting Her Career in Codebreaking
On June 22, 1918, Agnes Driscoll joined the United States Navy. This was during World War I, and women were just starting to join the military. She was hired at a high rank, chief yeoman. She soon began working in the Navy's Code and Signal section. After the war, she chose to stay and work as a civilian codebreaker. She became a top expert for the U.S. Navy until 1949.
Working with Other Codebreakers
In 1920, Agnes studied at the Riverbank Laboratories. Many other famous codebreakers worked there, like William F. Friedman. She also worked at the American Black Chamber. This was the first U.S. agency that broke codes during peacetime. They focused on secret messages used by diplomats.
Creating Cipher Machines
Agnes Driscoll didn't just break codes; she also helped create them! She helped develop one of the U.S. Navy's first cipher machines. It was called the "Communications Machine." This machine helped keep Navy messages secret for much of the 1920s. For her important work, the U.S. Congress gave her a special award.
In 1923, she left the Navy briefly to test a new cipher machine. But it didn't work as well as hoped, so she returned to the Navy in 1924. In August 1924, she married Michael Driscoll, a lawyer.
Agnes Driscoll made huge breakthroughs in breaking Japanese naval codes.
- In 1926, she helped break the "Red Book Code." This was a Japanese Navy manual code.
- In 1930, she helped break the "Blue Book Code."
- In 1935, she led the effort to break the "ORANGE machine" code. This was used for secret messages from Japanese naval officers around the world.
Cracking JN-25 and Mentoring Others
In 1939, Agnes made big progress on JN-25. This was the main code used by the Japanese fleet for their most important messages. She figured out how to read parts of this complex code. This work was very important later, especially before the Battle of Midway. It helped the U.S. get advance warnings.
During this time, Agnes also helped train other important Navy codebreakers, including:
- Joseph Rochefort
- Thomas Dyer
- Edwin T. Layton
- Joseph Wenger
Later Career and Retirement (1940–1959)
Working on German and Russian Ciphers
In 1940, Agnes Driscoll was moved to a new team. They worked on breaking the German Enigma ciphers. These were very difficult codes. Later, in 1945, she also worked on Russian ciphers.
Joining New Agencies
After World War II, Agnes continued her work with new national security agencies. She joined the Armed Forces Security Agency in 1949. Then, in 1952, she moved to the National Security Agency (NSA). She worked on various projects until she retired in 1959.
Death and Honors
Agnes Meyer Driscoll passed away in 1971. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 2000, Agnes Driscoll was honored by being added to the National Security Agency's Hall of Honor. In 2017, a special marker was placed in Ohio to celebrate her achievements. It called her "the first lady of naval cryptology."
See also
In Spanish: Agnes Meyer Driscoll para niños
