[Cryptography] In memoriam: Edgar Allan Poe

Jon Callas jon at callas.org
Mon Oct 8 12:44:47 EDT 2018



> On Oct 6, 2018, at 3:47 PM, Dave Horsfall <dave at horsfall.org> wrote:
> 
> We lost poet and horror writer Edgar Allan Poe om this day in 1849; one of his most famous works includes "The Gold-Bug" (dealing with crypto).


Less well-known, but arguably more important is Poe’s “A Few Words on Secret Writing” from Graham’s Magazine, July 1841. The article can be found on the site of The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore:

https://www.eapoe.org/works/essays/fwsw0741.htm

Also, while there is a generation of cryptologists who were inspired by Kahn, before Kahn, the usual thing that pulled people in was Poe, either from “The Gold Bug” or Secret Writing.

	Jon



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