Events Calendar |
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The Woman All Spies Fear
Date: March 17, 2022
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Event Description
The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park continues its acclaimed Date with History series with an online program featuring author and historian Amy Butler Greenfield. She will discuss her 2021 book, “The Woman All Spies Fear,” the biography of code-breaking pioneer Elizebeth Smith Friedman.
The free presentation (via Zoom) is on Thursday, March 17, at 6 pm CST. To receive a link, register in advance at FDMuseum.org.
In the summer of 1916, a young woman from Indiana set out to solve a mystery that involved an oddball millionaire, a volume of Shakespeare’s plays, and the secret world of codes and ciphers. Within a year, she had transformed herself into one of America’s top code breakers.
During World War I, Friedman cracked thousands of messages, but that was only the beginning of her brilliant career. In the 1920s and 1930s, she pitted her wits against the mob. When World War II broke out, she hunted Nazi spies.
In this talk, award-winning historian Amy Butler Greenfield, speaking from London, will bring the fascinating story to life, revealing new aspects of Friedman’s remarkable hidden life.
Greenfield writes books for both children and adults, covering art, history, science, and spies. An enthusiastic speaker, she has appeared on radio and television, including PBS’s American Experience. She also has given popular talks at the International Spy Museum, the Los Angeles Public Library, and UK intelligence agency GCHQ.
Born in Philadelphia, Greenfield grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and graduated from Williams College. She now lives with her family in England, near Oxford, where she studied Modern History as a Marshall Scholar.
The First Division Museum is open daily (except Mondays) from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is free with paid parking ($5).
Visit FDMuseum.org for additional details.
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About the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park
The First Division Museum, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, promotes public learning about America’s military heritage and affairs through the history of the “Big Red One”—the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum’s main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID’s history in more recent times. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum’s library, archival and photo collections. Outside, tanks from every era are interpreted, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Solemn memorial markers and commemorative statuary also command visitors’ attention. The museum’s “Footsteps of the First” travel program, in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad, will explore Normandy and other key sites in Western Europe, October 6-15, 2022. Full details, including the itinerary and registration, are on the museum website.
The free presentation (via Zoom) is on Thursday, March 17, at 6 pm CST. To receive a link, register in advance at FDMuseum.org.
In the summer of 1916, a young woman from Indiana set out to solve a mystery that involved an oddball millionaire, a volume of Shakespeare’s plays, and the secret world of codes and ciphers. Within a year, she had transformed herself into one of America’s top code breakers.
During World War I, Friedman cracked thousands of messages, but that was only the beginning of her brilliant career. In the 1920s and 1930s, she pitted her wits against the mob. When World War II broke out, she hunted Nazi spies.
In this talk, award-winning historian Amy Butler Greenfield, speaking from London, will bring the fascinating story to life, revealing new aspects of Friedman’s remarkable hidden life.
Greenfield writes books for both children and adults, covering art, history, science, and spies. An enthusiastic speaker, she has appeared on radio and television, including PBS’s American Experience. She also has given popular talks at the International Spy Museum, the Los Angeles Public Library, and UK intelligence agency GCHQ.
Born in Philadelphia, Greenfield grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and graduated from Williams College. She now lives with her family in England, near Oxford, where she studied Modern History as a Marshall Scholar.
The First Division Museum is open daily (except Mondays) from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is free with paid parking ($5).
Visit FDMuseum.org for additional details.
###
About the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park
The First Division Museum, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, promotes public learning about America’s military heritage and affairs through the history of the “Big Red One”—the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum’s main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID’s history in more recent times. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum’s library, archival and photo collections. Outside, tanks from every era are interpreted, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Solemn memorial markers and commemorative statuary also command visitors’ attention. The museum’s “Footsteps of the First” travel program, in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad, will explore Normandy and other key sites in Western Europe, October 6-15, 2022. Full details, including the itinerary and registration, are on the museum website.
