Edward Hebern
Encyclopedia
Edward Hugh Hebern was an early inventor of rotor machine
s, devices for encryption
.
Edward had an older sister, Arizona (Zoa) born in 1867, two younger brothers, Daniel Boone Hebern, born on February 17, 1871, and William Hebern, born April 8, 1875 in Houston, Texas, as well as a younger sister, Nellie Hebern, born in 1874.
At the age of 6, on August 4, 1875, Edward Hugh and three of his siblings were admitted to the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ home in Normal, Illinois. According to the Soldiers’ home register their father was listed as having died in 1874 in an unknown location, but he was admitted to the same Soldiers’ Home 40 years later. By February 13, 1879, the youngest Hebern child, William, was admitted to the Soldiers’ Home. Six months later on August 12, 1879, Rosanna married Archibald Thompson in Bloomington, Illinois.
On June 14, 1881, two months before her 14th birthday, Zoa left the Soldiers’ Home. Edward was discharged from the Soldiers’ Home in May 1883, after turning 14, and went to Odin, Illinois where he worked on a farm. By 1885, Daniel, Nellie, and William were all in Odin, Illinois. Zoa married Edward F. Clark (27 yrs. old) on August 18, 1886 in Coffey County, Kansas. Then they headed to Utah.
The rest of the children eventually moved to Madera, Ca. beginning with the two eldest boys in 1896. Daniel Boone Hebern was in North Fork, California working as a laborer; his brother, Edward Hugh Hebern was in Madera farming. Daniel purchased two plots of land in North Fork.
He got a patent in 1919, shortly before three others patented (in other countries) much the same thing. They were Arthur Scherbius
in Germany
, Hugo Koch
in the Netherlands
, and A Damm in Sweden
. Hebern started a company to market the Hebern rotor machine
; one of his employees was Agnes Meyer
, who left the Navy in Washington DC to work for Hebern in California
. Scherbius designed the Enigma, Koch sold his patent to Scherbius a few years later, and Damm's company — taken over by Boris Hagelin
after his death — moved to Switzerland and is still in existence, as Crypto AG
.
By September 1922 Edward Hugh Hebern was so sure of imminent huge orders from the Navy and Army that he began building a factory in Oakland. The striking three-story structure was built to accommodate 1,500 workers and had a luxurious office for Hebern. The 1923 stockholders’ report said it was “one of the most beautiful structures in California and said to be the only building in the State of true Gothic architecture throughout.”
By the time it was completed the following year, it had cost somewhere between $380,000 and $400,000, and the company still had no income. In fact, its first sale, to the Italian government, was still twenty-three months away. Eventually Hebern would sell twelve of his early machines to the Navy, the Pacific Steamship Company of Seattle, and a few other buyers, but his ambitious building was repossessed. The Hebern-Code building still stands today at 829 Harrison Street in Oakland and is primarily used as Oakland’s Asian resource center.
Hebern's implementation of his idea was less secure than he believed, for William F. Friedman
found at least one method of attack when it was offered to the US Government. Hebern's company did not prosper, his promotional efforts for it were questioned, and he was tried and convicted for fraud. Agnes Meyer returned to Washington to work for the Navy.
Friedman went on to design a much more secure and complex rotor machine for the US Army. It eventually became the SIGABA
.
Rotor machine
In cryptography, a rotor machine is an electro-mechanical device used for encrypting and decrypting secret messages. Rotor machines were the cryptographic state-of-the-art for a prominent period of history; they were in widespread use in the 1920s–1970s...
s, devices for encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
.
Background
Edward Hugh Hebern was born in Streator, Illinois on April 23, 1869. His parents were Charles and Rosanna (Rosy) Hebern. They met in Harris County, Texas while Charles was serving as guard and escort from the civil war. On February 4, 1866 they married in Harris, Texas. Rosanna was only fifteen years old. After mustering out of the service on May 29, 1866, Charles and his new wife returned to Springfield, Illinois, and on June 18, 1866 he received his final pay and discharge.Edward had an older sister, Arizona (Zoa) born in 1867, two younger brothers, Daniel Boone Hebern, born on February 17, 1871, and William Hebern, born April 8, 1875 in Houston, Texas, as well as a younger sister, Nellie Hebern, born in 1874.
At the age of 6, on August 4, 1875, Edward Hugh and three of his siblings were admitted to the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ home in Normal, Illinois. According to the Soldiers’ home register their father was listed as having died in 1874 in an unknown location, but he was admitted to the same Soldiers’ Home 40 years later. By February 13, 1879, the youngest Hebern child, William, was admitted to the Soldiers’ Home. Six months later on August 12, 1879, Rosanna married Archibald Thompson in Bloomington, Illinois.
On June 14, 1881, two months before her 14th birthday, Zoa left the Soldiers’ Home. Edward was discharged from the Soldiers’ Home in May 1883, after turning 14, and went to Odin, Illinois where he worked on a farm. By 1885, Daniel, Nellie, and William were all in Odin, Illinois. Zoa married Edward F. Clark (27 yrs. old) on August 18, 1886 in Coffey County, Kansas. Then they headed to Utah.
The rest of the children eventually moved to Madera, Ca. beginning with the two eldest boys in 1896. Daniel Boone Hebern was in North Fork, California working as a laborer; his brother, Edward Hugh Hebern was in Madera farming. Daniel purchased two plots of land in North Fork.
Patent
Arthur Scherbius
Arthur Scherbius was a German electrical engineer who patented an invention for a mechanical cipher machine, later sold as the Enigma machine.Scherbius was born in Frankfurt am Main and his father was a small businessman...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Hugo Koch
Hugo Koch
Hugo Alexander Koch was a Dutch inventor who conceived of and patented an idea for machine encryption — the rotor machine, although he was not the first to do so...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and A Damm in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Hebern started a company to market the Hebern rotor machine
Hebern rotor machine
The Hebern Rotor Machine was an electro-mechanical encryption machine built by combining the mechanical parts of a standard typewriter with the electrical parts of an electric typewriter, connecting the two through a scrambler...
; one of his employees was Agnes Meyer
Agnes Meyer Driscoll
Agnes Meyer Driscoll was, known as Miss Aggie or Madame X, an Americancryptanalyst during both World War I and World War II.-Early years:...
, who left the Navy in Washington DC to work for Hebern in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Scherbius designed the Enigma, Koch sold his patent to Scherbius a few years later, and Damm's company — taken over by Boris Hagelin
Boris Hagelin
Boris Caesar Wilhelm Hagelin was a Swedish businessman and inventor of encryption machines.Born of Swedish parents in the Caucasus , Hagelin attended Lundsberg boarding school and later studied mechanical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, graduating in 1914...
after his death — moved to Switzerland and is still in existence, as Crypto AG
Crypto AG
Crypto AG is a Swiss company specialising in communications and information security. With headquarters in steinhausen, the company is a long-established manufacturer of encryption machines and a wide variety of cipher devices...
.
By September 1922 Edward Hugh Hebern was so sure of imminent huge orders from the Navy and Army that he began building a factory in Oakland. The striking three-story structure was built to accommodate 1,500 workers and had a luxurious office for Hebern. The 1923 stockholders’ report said it was “one of the most beautiful structures in California and said to be the only building in the State of true Gothic architecture throughout.”
By the time it was completed the following year, it had cost somewhere between $380,000 and $400,000, and the company still had no income. In fact, its first sale, to the Italian government, was still twenty-three months away. Eventually Hebern would sell twelve of his early machines to the Navy, the Pacific Steamship Company of Seattle, and a few other buyers, but his ambitious building was repossessed. The Hebern-Code building still stands today at 829 Harrison Street in Oakland and is primarily used as Oakland’s Asian resource center.
Hebern's implementation of his idea was less secure than he believed, for William F. Friedman
William F. Friedman
William Frederick Friedman was a US Army cryptographer who ran the research division of the Army's Signals Intelligence Service in the 1930s, and parts of its follow-on services into the 1950s...
found at least one method of attack when it was offered to the US Government. Hebern's company did not prosper, his promotional efforts for it were questioned, and he was tried and convicted for fraud. Agnes Meyer returned to Washington to work for the Navy.
Friedman went on to design a much more secure and complex rotor machine for the US Army. It eventually became the SIGABA
SIGABA
In the history of cryptography, the ECM Mark II was a cipher machine used by the United States for message encryption from World War II until the 1950s...
.