Speaker Series
The Amelia C. Murdoch Speaker Series continues with:
Crypto-Linguists:
Who they were, what they did, and why it matters
Dr. David Hatch, NSA Historian
DR. DAVID A. HATCH – THE NSA HISTORIAN
Saturday, September 29, 2018, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: College Park City Council Chambers, 4500 Knox Road, College Park, MD, 20740
Dr. Hatch will describe how language work developed in support of signals intelligence activities in the 20th Century. Much of modern intelligence work began with the Mexican border crisis early in the century, and language experts suddenly became essential to the production of vital secret information. Language knowledge was vital to intelligence production in World War II and the Cold War.
Among those who transcribe or translate foreign communications for American intelligence, some with specialized knowledge or assignments are considered “cryptolinguists.” Dr. Hatch will explain this odd term and talk about how this specialty helps protect our country’s security.
About our speaker:
Dr. David Hatch earned his B.S. and M.S. at Indiana University, Bloomington, and his Ph.D. at American University in the District of Columbia. He joined the National Security Agency in the antediluvian era, and has worked as a language officer, first-line supervisor, and Congressional liaison officer.
Dr. Hatch transferred to NSA’s Center for Cryptologic History in 1990, and has been the NSA Historian since 1993. He is a frequent speaker on NSA and cryptologic history, and has written a number of classified and unclassified books and articles on these subjects.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT WITH FREE PARKING. Parking passes are available at the door (please don’t pay for parking before getting a parking pass from us).
To help us plan, please sign up using the form below. We hope to see you there!
The Amelia C. Murdoch Speaker Series is continuing in the 2017-2018 season. We are accepting proposals from potential speakers and nominations of people you’d like to see at our series. Please share your suggestions in the form below or send an email to info [at] languagemuseum.org
