"On This Date in Cryptologic History" Calendar
2003: Death of Dr. Richard Leibler
When Dr. Richard Leibler arrived at NSA in 1953, he used his skills in mathematics, computer science, statistics, and cryptanalysis to assist in the VENONA program. The object of the VENONA program was to examine, and possibly exploit, encrypted Soviet diplomatic communications. Some of Dr. Leibler’s theoretical work enabled NSA cryptolinguists to solve previously unexploitable Soviet espionage messages.
In 1962, Dr. Leibler became the Director of the Communications Research Division (CRD) of the Institute for Defense Analysis at Princeton. During this time, he successfully lobbied NSA for important research projects to be sent to CRD. Dr. Leibler received the Exceptional Civilian Service Award for accomplishments that “profoundly influenced” cryptologic research for three decades. He was inducted into the NSA/CSS Hall of Honor in 2002. He passed away #OTD in 2003.
Learn more via the link below to Dr. Leibler's Hall of Honor page.