Parker Hitt: The Father of American Military Cryptology

"Success in dealing with unknown ciphers is measured by these four things in the order named: perseverance, careful methods of analysis, intuition, luck." So begins the first chapter of Colonel Parker Hitt's 1916 Manual for the Solution of Military Ciphers, a foundational text in the history of cryptology. An irrepressible innovator, Hitt possessed these qualities in abundance; his manual, cipher devices, and proactive mentorship of Army cryptology during World War I laid the groundwork for the modern American cryptologic system. Though he considered himself an infantryman, Hitt is, instead, the "father of American military cryptology."

In the first biography of this little-known officer, Betsy Rohaly Smoot brings Indiana-born Hitt's legacy to the fore, chronicling his upbringing, multiple careers, ingenious mind, and independent spirit. In the 1910s, after a decade as an infantry officer, Hitt set his sights on aviation. Instead, he was drawn to the applied sciences, designing signal and machine-gun equipment while applying math to combat problems. Hitt, atypical for his time, championed women in the workplace. Genevieve Young Hitt, under her husband's tutelage, became the first woman to break ciphers for the United States government; during World War I he suggested the Army employ American female telephone operators; and during World War II Hitt found his daughter Mary Lue work as a "code girl." Readers of Elizabeth Cobb's The Hello Girls, Liza Mundy's Code Girls, and David Kahn's The Codebreakers will find in Parker Hitt's story an insightful profile of an American cryptologic hero and the early twentieth century military. Drawing from a never-before-seen cache of Hitt's letters, photographs, and diaries, Smoot introduces readers to Hitt's life on the front lines, in classrooms and workshops, and at home.