Frank Rowlett, a founder of NSA's National Cryptologic School, has died at 90. The New York Times has an obituary on the "code wizard" today: http://jya.com/nsa-rowlett.htm Rowlett was one of three earliest recruits of William Friedman, head of the the US Army Signal Intelligence Service, a 1930s forerunner of NSA's "massive cryptologic system today" (Kahn). After a long career in Army cryptology Rowlett served with the CIA and was special assistant to the DIRNSA at the end of his service in the 1960s. He is credited with helping to break the Japanese RED and PURPLE codes, efforts unlerlying the Allies World War II MAGIC cryptanalysis system. He was also an inventor, following work of others, of the SIGABA machine, the US Army's version of Hebern's cipher device, and held other cryptologic patents. David Kahn has tart remarks in The Codebreakers about how Friedman, and to a lesser extent, Rowlett, got national awards for work done by others, through "well-situated friends, picayune mechanical differences, and a great but totally irrelevant record." (page 392)