http://www.salon.com/2012/11/30/code_used_by_ri_founding_father_is_finally_cracked/
Roger Williams is a very interesting person from United States history,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_%28theologian%29, very important in the establishment of
Rhode Island (RI), and also the principle of Separation of Church and State.
As an Anthropologist & Historian, definitely adding him to my list of historic people to study, he actually studied Native American languages & culture, and didn't approve of the ways they were treated.
The cracking of his personal Shorthand is an interesting story, if your not familiar with Shorthand see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorthand.
Shorthand was used way back in the day, as a way for a skilled person to record spoken words in real time (or near real time).
Then it would normally be converted into standard text by scribes, or after Typewriter was invented, typed up.
Generally copies would be made as well, either by scribes or typewriters, of conventional text/language, not the Shorthand version.
Learning Shorthand is something that has been on my to do list for a long time, even in modern world, I find writing to be better for some tasks.
For one, with
Rite In The Rain Spiral Notebook
, and a Pencil or
Space Pen
you can easily take notes outside in the rain, or in Shower/Hot Tub for that matter.
Also Shorthand has applications for Low Tech communication methods like
Carrier Pigeons, low or even so called "Obsolete" tech can be very useful at times.
Low and/or Obsolete tech often doesn't require power, so can provide limited communications after Natural Disaster or other large disruption to Power Grid and Internet.
Also not vulnerable to same types of intercepts, so if used for regular or frequent communication, requires an attacker to invest in broader amount of attack capability and tools.
Perhaps
Peregrine Falcon's to take down the Carrier Pigeons?
