Frank B. Rowlett | |
|---|---|
 Frank Rowlett. | |
| Born | (1908-05-02)May 2, 1908 |
| Died | June 29, 1998(1998-06-29) (aged 90) |
| Alma mater | Emory & Henry College |
| Awards |  President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1965) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cryptography |
Frank Byron Rowlett (May 2, 1908 – June 29, 1998) was an Americancryptologist.
Rowlett was born inRose Hill, Lee County, Virginia[1] and attendedEmory & Henry College inEmory, Virginia. In 1929 he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry. He was hired byWilliam Friedman as a "junior cryptanalyst" for theSignals Intelligence Service (SIS) onApril Fools' Day 1930; shortly after, he was followed into SIS byAbraham Sinkov andSolomon Kullback.
During the 1930s, after a lengthy period of training, Rowlett and his colleagues compiledcodes andciphers for use by theU.S. Army and began solving a number of foreign, notablyJapanese, systems. In the mid-1930s, they solved the first Japanese machine forencipherment ofdiplomatic communications, known to the Americans asRED. In 1939–40, Rowlett led theSIS effort that solved a more sophisticated Japanese diplomatic machine cipher, codenamedPURPLE by the U.S. Once, when asked what his greatest contribution to that effort had been, Rowlett said, "I was the one who believed it could be done."[2] Rowlett supervised cryptanalystVirginia Dare Aderholdt, who decrypted the Japanese surrender message, August 14, 1945.[3]
Rowlett also played a crucial role in protecting American communications duringWorld War II, making fundamental and innovative contributions to the design of theSIGABAcipher machine. Its security was an important factor in saving American lives in combat. In 1964, Congress awarded Rowlett US$100,000, equivalent to $1,010,000 in 2024, as partial compensation for his classified cryptologic inventions.
In addition to having highly developed cryptanalytic skills, Rowlett was a good manager, and he rose quickly within the organization. In 1943–45 he was chief of the General Cryptanalytic Branch, and in 1945–1947 chief of the Intelligence Division. From 1949 to 1952, he was technical director in the Office of Operations of theArmed Forces Security Agency, predecessor to theNational Security Agency (NSA).
Rowlett differed with GeneralRalph J. Canine, the first director of NSA, over personnel movements, including his own. Acting on his differences, he transferred to theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1952 and worked there until 1958. At that time he returned toNSA as a Special Assistant to the Director. In 1965 Rowlett became commandant of theNational Cryptologic School. In 1965, Rowlett was awarded thePresident's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service.[4] He retired from federal service in 1966. In 1965 he was awarded theNational Security Medal by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson for his work on breaking the JapanesePurple cipher.
Rowlett has been inducted into theMilitary Intelligence Hall of Fame.
Because of his importance in the protection of American communications, theInformation Systems Security Organization has named its highest award theFrank Byron Rowlett Award.
Frank Rowlett died June 29, 1998, at age 90.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromFrank B. Rowlett.National Security Agency.
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