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The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll

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The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll Center for Cryptologic History Special Series Volume 10 The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll Kevin Wade Johnson went from being one of NSA’s premier product reporters to becom- ing a historian in the Center for Cryptologic History. In his over 30 years of government service, he became proficient in four languages; certified as adjunct faculty for nine different courses; created over 100 web pages, over 80 entries on the blog Write Right, more than 40 training videos, and numerous brown bags and workshops; and created a National Crypto- logic School course (two more are under consideration). The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll Kevin Wade Johnson National Security Agency Center for Cryptologic History 2015 The Giant The Person I: Although Agnes May Meyer, later 1889-1918 Agnes May Driscoll,* was the Navy’s While 1918 was the beginning for principal cryptanalyst of many years, Agnes Meyer Driscoll’s calling, her per- spent over 40 years in cryptology, sonal beginning was when she was born became a member of the Cryptologic in Geneseo, Illinois, on 24 July 1889, to Hall of Honor, and has principal credit Fig. 1. Agnes May Meyer, German immigrant Dr. Gustav Meyer for personally breaking two major codes/ age 21; her Cryptologic and his wife, Lucy Andrews Meyer.1 The ciphers, she was curiously neglected dur- Hall of Honor photograph third child of eight—after George Isaac ing her career and after. Meyer and Lucy Carolina Meyer, and Never credited with as much as she believed was before Gustav Freckmann Meyer, Margaret Eliza her due, never promoted in grade with her peers, Meyer, Mary Randall Meyer, Otto (no middle name even now she is not always ranked with those she or unavailable), and Joseph Lawrence2—she was a regarded as peers. Although considered one of the direct descendant of Rhode Island founder Roger giants of American cryptology, she is nevertheless Williams through her maternal grandfather, George rarely mentioned in the same breath as a William W. Shaw3 (d. 20 February 1912,4 when Agnes would Friedman or a Laurance Safford, even though she have been 22 years old). The family was reportedly began her code and cipher work in 1918, contem- severe, demanding obedience.5 porary with Friedman. Should she be ranked with The family moved from Geneseo to Westerville, them? Has she been neglected by history? We will Ohio, in time for Agnes to attend one of the Westerville consider exactly that. public schools6 and for 110 E. College Ave., Wester- ville, to be her address of record when she enlisted in the Navy.7 But, although she, like many others enlist- *Because she achieved historical signifi cance both ing, was fresh from school when she enlisted, it was as as Agnes Meyer and after her marriage, as Agnes a teacher, not a recent graduate. Driscoll, historians have referred to her as Agnes Mey- After the Westerville public schools, she attend- er Driscoll. However, there is no evidence this author ed Business School (high school) in Amarillo, Texas can discover that she ever used that name herself; all her postmarriage personnel forms are as Agnes May (dates unknown), Otterbein University in Westerville Driscoll. Th is paper will refer hereafter to her as Meyer from 1907 to 1909, then Ohio State University from 8 before her marriage and Driscoll after. 1910 to 1911, graduating with an A.B. 3 3 The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll She was then employed at Lowrey-Phillips Mili- Robbery, all twelve minutes of it, came out tary School in Amarillo from 1912 to 1915 as direc- that same year, 1903. tor of music—in 1912, at a school recital, she played • She was a teenager when U.S. homes began Dvorak’s Humoreske (Humoresque) in a piano solo.9 receiving electricity. After that she was in charge of the Math Department • She undoubtedly knew how to ride a horse at Amarillo High School from 1915 to 1918.10 or would have ridden in a horse-drawn A woman with six years’ experience in stenog- vehicle. She would have been about twenty- raphy, bookkeeping, typing, clerical work, teaching, four when the fi rst Model Ts rolled off the French, and German,11 a Presbyterian a month short new Ford assembly lines in 1913. of her 29th birthday, Meyer enlisted in the U.S. Naval • She joined the Navy at twenty-eight, only Reserve on 22 June 1918.*12 Her world would change about a year after the Navy began accepting as a result; later, she would change the world. women … in clerical positions only. • Her perspective on women’s rights and femi- The World of Agnes May Meyer nism would certainly have a diff erent starting The world that Agnes Meyer grew up in was point than ours. She would not have the right very different from the world of today. Understand- to vote until 1920, the year she turned 31. ing her world is necessary to understand her. For • Finally, she grew up in a time when, in example: general, only clerical, teaching, nursing, and domestic or service jobs were open to • Th e U.S. had thirty-eight states when she women. was born (she would be seventy years old, and retired, when the fi ftieth state, Hawaii, Yeoman (F): 1918-1919 joined). Agnes May Meyer enrolled in the Naval Reserve • She might have remembered the Maine; the on 22 June 1918 as a Yeoman 1st Class (F)†, a month Spanish-American War started when she before her 29th birthday, at the Naval Recruiting was almost nine. Station in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was assigned Ser- • She would have understood Victorian val- vice Number 1749818. She was promptly directed ues; she was eleven years old when Queen to report, on active duty, to the commandant of the Victoria died. Navy Yard in Washington, DC, for assignment. She • When she looked up in the sky as a child, was then reassigned on 24 June to the Bureau of she would have seen only birds and clouds: Navigation. she was 14 when the Wright brothers made Within the next three months, she must have their fi rst fl ight. been assigned to the Office of the Chief Cable • Moving pictures would have been a novelty as well; the landmark fi lm Th e Great Train † Yeoman is an enlisted rating denoting a sailor *Unfortunately, queries in 1987 to the Westerville whose duties are administrative or clerical; “Yeoman City Schools, the Ohio State University, Ohio His- (F)” was a World War I-era designation of female Yeo- torical Society, Dallas Historical Society, City of Ama- men. In Agnes May Meyer’s records, her rank and rillo Public Library, and Texas State Library yielded service are also sometimes listed as “Yeo.1c, USNRF,” no information on Meyer. (Letters in NSA Archives where the (F) has been moved from the rank to the Accession 49511, Box CCH36, Folder 10) end of the abbreviation, without parentheses. 4 Yeoman (F): 1918-1919 Fig. 2: The Meyer siblings, approx. Fig. 3: Agnes, George, and Fig. 4. The Meyer family: 1890; Lucy Carolina (left), Lucy Meyer (front) Lucy, Agnes, and George; probably age 2; Agnes (center), (back) Lucy (mother) and Gustav (father) probably age 1; and George, probably age 3 Fig. 5. Meyer sisters Lucy (l) and Agnes Fig. 6. June 1903: Agnes (l) and Lucy Meyer 5 The Neglected Giant: Agnes Meyer Driscoll Fig. 7. Agnes Meyer, age 20 Censor, but evidently sought another assignment soon thereafter: • On 14 September, the 12 September request for her disenrollment, “if the services of Fig. 8. Agnes Meyer, probably age 10 the above-named yeoman [Meyer] can be spared from the offi ce of the Chief of Cable grams. … One quality that stands forth prominent- Censor [sic],” was disapproved, and she was ly in Miss Meyer is her unfailing conscientiousness, not “used as a statistician in the Bureau of which is coupled with a serious interest in whatever Supplies and Accounts.” she is given to do.”14 • Also on 14 September, another 12 Sep- She always received solid performance scores tember request for disenrollment—if she of 3.5 to 3.7 for proficiency on a 4-point scale “could be spared” from the Censor offi ce (and straight 4s for sobriety and obedience). Such and assigned to the Bureau of Supplies and qualities were undoubtedly the reason for her raise Accounts paymaster—was disapproved. in grade to Chief Yeoman on 1 February 191915 • Eventually she and the Navy found where while still assigned to the Office of the Chief Cable she fi t, lifting her out of clerical work and Censor.16 beginning her lifelong calling for cryptol- Although she was engaged in cryptologic work ogy: a leave form of 18 June 1919 has her by June 1919, she was not breaking codes yet. assigned to the Code & Signal Section.13 “Father of Naval Cryptology” Captain Laurance She did relatively well in the Censor’s office; that Safford, USN, ret., years later said (lightly edited for office noted on 25 April 1919: “… Miss Agnes M. capitalization): Meyer worked … in the Office of the Chief Cable … Miss Agnes Meyer had been transferred Censor … for upwards of one year ending March, over from Censorship to Naval Commu- 1919. During most of this time, Miss Meyer had nications under Cdr. [William] Gresham charge of the receipt, segregation, indexing, filing or Cdr. [Milo] Draemel [see Appendix II], and forwarding of incoming and outgoing tele- whichever came first. She stayed on with us, 6 A Glass Ceiling? Fig. 9. Yeoman 1st Class F Agnes Meyer, far right; others unidentified not attempting any foreign [code or cipher] A Glass Ceiling? solutions, but studying our own systems and Agnes Driscoll left nothing in writing at NSA to particularly solving all manner of machine help historians to understand her motivations and ciphers submitted to the Navy Department reasoning.* Until a full-scale biographical effort can for adoption.
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