"On This Date in History" Calendar
1958: Dr. Louis Tordella became D/DIRNSA
On 1 August 1958, Dr. Louis Tordella became Deputy Director, NSA. He served until April 1974 and became the longest serving Deputy Director at NSA. Dr. Tordella was inducted into the NSA/CSS Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2000. Learn more about Dr. Louis Tordella via the links at the bottom of this page.
Dr. Louis W. Tordella, a mathematician who helped break the German military code in World War II, and later spent 16 years as the deputy director of the National Security Agency. During World War II he worked for the Navy's codebreaking organization, OP-20-G. His career at NSA brought him to the very front rank of cryptologists. He was an early advocate of the use of computers for cryptologic work, and helped to cement a close working relationship with American industry. He helped to create and shape the NSA and was regarded both as a pioneer in the development of ever more powerful and sophisticated computers to break enemy codes and as a master administrator who pressed for establishing a combined military code-breaking operation and then virtually ran it under a series of military directors.
