Women of Arlington Wednesday: There are many prominent women buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Today we are going to glimpse into the incredible life of Elizebeth Friedman. Elizebeth Smith Friedman was one of the leading cryptologists of the 20th century — and one of the first women employed as a U.S. government codebreaker. After graduating from Hillsdale College with a degree in English literature, she was working at the Newberry Research Library in Chicago when she was recruited to work at Riverbank, a private think tank that served as the U.S. government’s unofficial cryptologic laboratory during World War I. At Riverbank, she met her husband, William F. Friedman, also known for his work in cryptology. During the 1920s through 1940s, she worked for numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury Department, where she cracked the codes of international alcohol and drug smugglers’ messages during Prohibition. In the 1950s, she applied her cryptanalytic skills to the work of William Shakespeare, authoring the award-winning book “The Shakespeare Ciphers Examined.” Elizebeth and William Friedman are buried together; their epitaph states, “Knowledge is power.” Today, Elizebeth Friedman is buried in Section 8, Grave 6379-A. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

Women of Arlington Wednesday: There are many prominent women buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Today we are going to glimpse into the incredible life of Elizebeth Friedman. Elizebeth Smith Friedman was one of the leading cryptologists of the 20th century — and one of the first women employed as a U.S. government codebreaker. After graduating from Hillsdale College with a degree in English literature, she was working at the Newberry Research Library in Chicago when she was recruited to work at Riverbank, a private think tank that served as the U.S. government's unofficial cryptologic laboratory during World War I. At Riverbank, she met her husband, William F. Friedman, also known for his work in cryptology. During the 1920s through 1940s, she worked for numerous U.S. government agencies, including the Treasury Department, where she cracked the codes of international alcohol and drug smugglers' messages during Prohibition. In the 1950s, she applied her cryptanalytic skills to the work of William Shakespeare, authoring the award-winning book "The Shakespeare Ciphers Examined." Elizebeth and William Friedman are buried together; their epitaph states, "Knowledge is power." Today, Elizebeth Friedman is buried in Section 8, Grave 6379-A. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.