Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
John Wallis and the Black Chambers
The origins of the black chambers in England can be attributed to
John Wallis (1616-1703), (see Figure 2.2) who may be considered Rossig-
nol's contemporary. Wallis was cofounder (along with John Wilkins 2.1 (1616-
1703)) of the Royal Society. Wallis was primarily a mathematician, per-
haps one of the very best England had seen up to that time. For in-
stance, his topic, Arithmetica Infinitorum (1656), had a profound influence
on Sir Isaac Newton's invention of the calculus. Wallis also invented the
symbol
for infinity, and numerous other contributions may be cited, but
our primary interest is in his cryptological interests, and he had many.
In 1640, Wallis was ordained by the
Bishop of Winchester, and in that same
year received his Master's Degree. In
his twenties, Wallis began looking at ci-
phers. In fact, in 1642, at the time of the
Civil War between the Royalists and the
Parliamentarians, he was cryptanalyzing
Royalist messages for the Parliamentari-
ans. As a reward, he was given charge of
the Church of Saint Gabriel in London in
1643. In that year, his mother died, leav-
ing him an independently wealthy man
with a substantial estate in Kent where
he was born on November 23, 1616. In
1645, he began meeting with a group (in-
cluding Wilkins) that would eventually
lead to the establishment of the Royal So-
ciety in England.
As further reward for using his cryptanalytic skills in support of the parlia-
mentarians, he was appointed to the Savilian Chair of geometry at Oxford in
1649, a position he held for over half a century until his death. However, he
engaged in many other activities.
His greatest cryptological efforts came late in his life. He was employed in
1689 as a cryptanalyst by King William III (1650-1702), and Mary II (1662-
1694), reporting to their Secretary of War, the Earl of Nottingham. (William
ruled jointly with Mary from 1689 until her death in 1694, then solely until his
death in 1702. He came to the English throne from the house of Orange, in the
Netherlands, and thus he is often called William of Orange.)
In the summer of 1689, Wallis cryptanalyzed intercepted cryptograms
(largely nomenclators) that had been sent between Louis XIV and his ambas-
sador in Poland. This included Louis' attempts to instigate a war between
Figure 2.2: John Wallis.
2.1 Wilkins, in his topic Mercury ,or the Secret and Swift Messenger , introduced into the
English language, the terms cryptologia ,or secrecy in speech and cryptographia ,or secrecy in
writing . He also introduced the term cryptomeneses as a general term for secret communica-
tion.
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