Herbert Yardley
The maverick American codebreaker who ran a secret peacetime spy agency, then shocked the world by exposing its secrets.
1889–1958 (age 69)·American cryptologist·Birthday: April 13·The Lost Generation
Biography
Herbert Yardley was a poker-playing telegraph clerk from Indiana who used his grasp of codes to build America's first formal cryptologic agency. In the wake of World War I, he convinced military intelligence to establish the clandestine 'Black Chamber,' which he led from a discreet New York City townhouse. His team's most stunning coup was cracking Japanese diplomatic codes, providing American negotiators a decisive edge at the 1921 Washington Naval Conference. When the State Department withdrew funding in 1929, a furious Yardley retaliated by publishing 'The American Black Chamber,' a sensational exposé that laid bare the techniques and successes of American codebreaking, causing international scandal and forcing foreign governments to overhaul their encryption. Branded a traitor by some, he later offered his skills to China and Canada, remaining a brilliant, controversial figure who forced the world to confront the shadowy game of peacetime espionage.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Herbert was born in 1889, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Herbert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1889
Herbert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1889Born
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1902Became a teenager
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could drive
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Could vote
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 21
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 30
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 40
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1939Turned 50
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 60
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Died at 69
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
Key Achievements
- Founded and directed MI-8, the U.S. Cipher Bureau, known as the 'American Black Chamber,' after World War I.
- Led the cryptanalysis that broke Japanese diplomatic codes prior to the Washington Naval Conference, directly influencing arms treaty negotiations.
- Authored the bestselling book 'The American Black Chamber' in 1931, revealing secret U.S. codebreaking activities.
- Awarded the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal for his cryptologic work during World War I.
- Served as a cryptologic consultant for the Chinese Nationalist government, helping them attack Japanese codes during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Did You Know?
He learned codebreaking partly by studying the coded messages of his fellow telegraph operators playing poker via wire.
His exposé, 'The American Black Chamber,' was banned in the United Kingdom for national security reasons.
Yardley once broke a complex Japanese diplomatic code in under three hours.
He wrote a book on poker, titled 'Yardley on Poker.'
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