Code Wizard Frank Rowlett Dies

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

Frank Rowlett, a founder of NSA's National Cryptologic School,
has died at 90. The New York Times has an obituary on the
"code wizard" today:

   http://jya.com/nsa-rowlett.htm

Rowlett was one of three earliest recruits of William Friedman,
head of the the US Army Signal Intelligence Service, a 1930s 
forerunner of NSA's "massive cryptologic system today" (Kahn). 
After a long career in Army cryptology Rowlett served with the 
CIA and was special assistant to the DIRNSA at the end of his 
service in the 1960s.

He is credited with helping to break the Japanese RED and 
PURPLE codes, efforts unlerlying the Allies World War II 
MAGIC cryptanalysis system.

He was also an inventor, following work of others, of the
SIGABA machine, the US Army's version of Hebern's 
cipher device, and  held other cryptologic patents.

David Kahn has tart remarks in The Codebreakers about 
how Friedman, and to a lesser extent, Rowlett, got national 
awards for work done by others, through "well-situated
friends, picayune mechanical differences, and a great but
totally irrelevant record." (page 392)