FOLGER

Washington, D.C. - January 28, 2015: Three editions of Sir Francis Bacon's famous work "Of the Advancement of Learning" are on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library's exhibit "Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers." His books are the first English summary of cryptology. Conspiracy theorists believe Bacon to be the true author of Shakespeare's plays and he left ciphers in the text to prove his authorship. WWII NSA cryptologist William Friedman and his wife Elizabeth published a book debunking the Baconians.

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. is exhibiting a historical collection of cryptology, "Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers."
The exhibit's center-piece is the mysterious Voynich manuscript, a 14th century book written in an unknown language, yet to be translated. The manuscript was long considered to be a cipher, but American codebreaker, William Friedman debunked the notion that the book is code, concluding it is written in an unknown language. Friedman, who broke Japan's Purple code in WWII, and his wife Elizabeth also dismissed Baconist conspiracy theories that Shakespeare's plays were peppered with ciphered clues that Sir Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays.

CREDIT: Matt Roth for The New York Times
Assignment ID: 30170041A

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Washington, D.C. - January 28, 2015: Three editions of Sir Francis Bacon's famous work "Of the Advancement of Learning" are on display at the Folger Shakespeare Library's exhibit "Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers." His books are the first English summary of cryptology. Conspiracy theorists believe Bacon to be the true author of Shakespeare's plays and he left ciphers in the text to prove his authorship. WWII NSA cryptologist William Friedman and his wife Elizabeth published a book debunking the Baconians. <br />
<br />
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. is exhibiting a historical collection of cryptology, "Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers."<br />
The exhibit's center-piece is the mysterious Voynich manuscript, a 14th century book written in an unknown language, yet to be translated. The manuscript was long considered to be a cipher, but American codebreaker, William Friedman debunked the notion that the book is code, concluding it is written in an unknown language. Friedman, who broke Japan's Purple code in WWII, and his wife Elizabeth also dismissed Baconist conspiracy theories that Shakespeare's plays were peppered with ciphered clues that Sir Francis Bacon actually wrote the plays. <br />
<br />
<br />
CREDIT: Matt Roth for The New York Times<br />
Assignment ID: 30170041A