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Cryptanalyst in Chief: Elizebeth Smith Friedman (Adults)

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Learn about code-breaking pioneer Elizebeth Smith Friedman with Vivien Lasken, Director of the Fabyan Villa and Japanese Garden.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman was a pioneer in code-breaking. Growing up in small-town Indiana, she would eventually become one of the nation’s foremost cryptanalysts. She took down smuggling syndicates during Prohibition, broke enigma codes in WWII, and caught Nazi spies in South America. She and her husband, William Friedman, practically invented their field overnight. Learn about her start at the fabulous estate of Colonel George Fabyan in Geneva, IL, the eccentric millionaire, and how her research led to the start of the NSA.

Vivien Lasken is the Director of the Fabyan Villa and Japanese Garden in Geneva, IL, and the leading expert on Colonel Fabyan and the Riverbank estate. She has a degree in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology and Museum Studies from UIUC. Vivien has worked at the Spurlock Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry prior to Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.

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