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32-568: George Fabyan was a millionaire businessman who had a thirst for knowledge. Inheritance from his tycoon-father's textile business, Bliss, Fabyan & Co., provided the financial foundation from which the Colonel and his wife, Nelle, established their legacy. Riverbank, their estate on the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois spanned approximately 300 acres (1.2 km) and featured, among other things,

64-487: A Japanese Garden , private zoo, Roman-style swimming pool, greenhouses, gardens, grottoes, a lighthouse, a Dutch-style windmill, a country club, a small farm and a scientific laboratory complex. The mid-1800s farmhouse that the Fabyans acquired in 1905 was dubbed by them, The Villa . In 1907, the farmhouse was extensively redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright, who added a south wing, three verandas and large eaves to achieve

96-526: A cruciform modestly Prairie-style country house. Other hallmarks of Wright's organic architecture found in the Fabyan Villa are geometric window motifs, 'light screens' (bands of windows), string-coursing , open floor plan and wood-spindle screening. In 1910, the Fabyans hired Taro Otsuka to design a Japanese-style garden below the villa. The one-acre garden was developed over the next several years, and from 1918 on, maintained by Susumu Kobayashi ,

128-603: A $ 150 monthly stipend to his secretary, Belle Cumming. At George's request, his wife burned some of his papers after his death, despite pleas from William Friedman, but other papers survived and are now at the New York Public Library . Nelle died of cancer in 1939 and the estate was sold to the county for $ 70,500; it is now part of the Kane County Forest Preserve District. The acoustic laboratory Fabyan built still operates as

160-716: A Dutch-style windmill built c.  1870 from its original farm site in York Center, Illinois to his estate. Known as the Fabyan Windmill , this 5-story grist mill was restored to working order in 2004. Fabyan supported the Baconian theory , which was popular at the time, that Shakespeare's plays were written by Francis Bacon . He established a cryptologic research group to study alleged ciphers in Shakespeare's work. Known as Riverbank Laboratories , it

192-489: A Japanese immigrant gardener. Japanese gardens were popular amongst the upper class, and it was a well-known attraction throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Although neglected for decades after the Fabyans, the Fabyan Japanese Garden was renovated beginning in 1974, and today contains restored and replicated original elements including a pond, waterfall, moon bridge , oversized lantern, and teahouse . In 1914,

224-566: A Shakespearean scholar, was employed by Fabyan to work with Gallup. Later, a geneticist employed by Fabyan, William F. Friedman , joined the effort, initially as a photographer, and then later drawn into the cryptography effort, such that he eventually became the head of the Codes & Ciphers department in Friedman's lab. Both Elizebeth and William went on to have significant careers in cryptanalysis (a term coined by William), and their work became

256-468: A field of well-known men, suddenly switched at the Republican convention, grabbing up a Yates banner and proceeding to stampede the convention. The results of the third ballot were never announced; Yates was then nominated on the fourth. The subsequent, decisive election sent Yates to the governor's chair by 61,233 votes over Democrat Samuel Alschuler of Aurora. The keynote legislation signed during

288-476: Is significant in light of the Chicago press of the day. Highly critical of the stylish governor, who retained the parade pomp of John Tanner and his "sunburst colonels", Chicago newspapers alleged that Yates Jr. was compelling state employees to contribute to a slush fund. Further accusations had it that campaign work was compulsory for state employees under Yates. In 1904, Yates was the first Republican West of

320-647: The Chautauqua circuit . In the 1906–07 United States Senate election , Yates challenged incumbent Shelby Moore Cullom for the Republican nomination. Yates lost the primary and subsequently the Republican caucuses of both houses of the Illinois General Assembly renominated Cullom as the Republican candidate. Governor Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne appointed Yates to the Board of Public Utilities. In 1918, he served as an assistant attorney general in

352-617: The Riverbank Laboratories , and his home is now the Fabyan Villa museum. The restored windmill is open to the public on summer weekends, as of 2019. The laboratory and windmill are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Richard Yates Jr. Richard Yates Jr. (December 12, 1860 – April 11, 1936) was the 22nd Governor of Illinois from 1901 to 1905—the first native-born governor of

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384-573: The Fabyans purchased a windmill located on a farm near what is now Elmhurst, Illinois and had it relocated to the east bank of the Fox River across from the Villa on acreage acquired that same year. The Fabyan Windmill is unique due to the bakery it houses that, according to legend, was used to bake bread for the Fabyans' pet bears. During wartime rationing, the Windmill was used to grind grain for

416-852: The Illinois Woman's College (now MacMurray College ). He was the city editor of the Daily Courier in 1878 and 1879, and of the Daily Journal from 1881 to 1883. Yates graduated from Illinois College in Jacksonville in 1880 and from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1884. Yates served as a private in Company I, Fifth Infantry, Illinois National Guard from 1885 to 1890. He married Ellen Wadsworth in 1888. He practiced law in Jacksonville and

448-679: The Office of the Illinois Attorney General . He was elected to Congress in 1918. Although he failed to receive his party's nomination in 1928 to the Seventy-first Congress , he was later appointed nominee and elected in place of Henry R. Rathbone who died prior to the election. In 1932, he was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection to the Seventy-third Congress . His final act of service

480-458: The Ohio to declare for Theodore Roosevelt . Yates, despite being a sitting governor, did not receive his party's nomination in 1904; he led the field of six candidates for 58 ballots, before throwing his support behind State's Attorney Charles S. Deneen in order to prevent the nomination of Frank O. Lowden , Yates' chief rival at the convention. In his years prior to Congress, Yates was popular on

512-441: The author of the works. Damages of $ 5,000 were awarded to Fabyan for the interference with the publication of the book. In the ensuing uproar, Tuthill rescinded his decision on 2 May 1916, and another judge, Frederick A. Smith, dismissed the ruling on 21 July 1916. It was later suggested by the press that the case was concocted by both parties for publicity, since Selig and Fabyan were known to be old friends. Elizebeth Smith ,

544-565: The birthplace of U.S. cryptology, and honored Fabyan in 1992 with a plaque reading "To the Memory of George Fabyan From a Grateful Government: In recognition of the voluntary and confidential service rendered by Colonel Fabyan and his Riverbank Laboratories in the sensitive areas of cryptanalysis and cryptologic training during a critical time of national need on the eve of America's entry into World War I". Fabyan died in 1936 from complications of pleurisy . He left $ 175,000 to his wife Nelle, and

576-699: The financial foundation from which he and his wife, Nelle, established their legacy. Illinois Governor Richard Yates Jr. appointed Fabyan to his military guard in 1901, giving him the honorary title of Colonel, by which he was later known. In May, 1909 Fabyan was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government for his service. Fabyan had spent some time in Japan before 1905, developing relations with Japanese government and business representatives. He

608-476: The first reverberation chamber in the US for Harvard physicist Wallace Clement Sabine , the pioneer researcher in architectural acoustics. The acoustic laboratory is still in use today as a testing facility. George Fabyan "Colonel" George Fabyan (March 15, 1867 – May 17, 1936) was an American businessman who founded a private research laboratory. Fabyan's laboratory pioneered modern cryptography and

640-644: The foundation for what later became the NSA . Decades after working for Fabyan, William and Elizebeth collaborated on a study to discredit the ciphers that Gallup claimed to have discovered. This book won the Folger Shakespeare Library Literary Prize of $ 1000 in 1955 for its definitive study that is considered to have disproven the claims of all researchers that the works of Shakespeare contain hidden ciphers that disclose Bacon's — or any other candidate's — secret authorship. The study

672-405: The governorship of Richard Yates was a new child labor law, the first of its kind in any state, restricting the work week of children to no more than 48 hours. Another significant move of the administration was the signing of a bill permitting municipal ownership of street railways. Yates restricted prison industries, but vetoed a bill calling for a centralized audit of all state agencies. The veto

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704-677: The state. From 1919 to 1933, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois. His father, also Richard Yates , was also an Illinois politician; indeed, the senior Yates was Illinois' popular Civil War governor, and the younger Yates spent a portion of his boyhood living in the Executive Mansion in Springfield, which would one day again be his home. The son was born in Jacksonville, Illinois on December 12, 1860. He attended public schools and, from 1870 to 1874,

736-463: The subject. Selig was intending to capitalise on the celebrations organised for the upcoming 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, which occurred in April 1616. A Cook Country Circuit Court judge , Richard Tuthill, found against Shakespeare's authorship - he determined that Bacon's ciphers identified by Fabyan's analyst Elizabeth Wells Gallup were authentic and that Francis Bacon was therefore

768-614: The surrounding community: a deed that was later honored by means of a U.S. postal stamp . Between 1912 and 1922, Fabyan created Riverbank Laboratories , the first privately owned research facility in the United States. In fact, the National Security Agency has recognized Riverbank Laboratories as the birthplace of cryptology and has honored Fabyan for his associated services to the United States' government. Nearly all American military World War I cryptography

800-523: The west bank of the Fox River. "Riverbank", as they named their estate, featured among other things, a Japanese Garden , a private zoo, a Roman-style swimming pool, a lighthouse, two windmills, gardens, grottoes, greenhouses, a farm and the research laboratory. They lived on their estate from 1908 to 1939 in a farmhouse remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright , which they called the Fabyan Villa . This site also contained George's and Nelle's expansive private library and museum. In 1914 Fabyan purchased and had moved

832-538: Was appointed as a liaison to General Kuroki Tamemoto during the Russo-Japanese peace negotiations ( Treaty of Portsmouth ) held in Maine in 1905. Between 1907 and 1910, he served as a host for General Kuroki, Baron Komura, and Prince Fushimi during their visits to Chicago. He and his wife developed a 325-acre country estate in Geneva, Illinois , 40 miles west of Chicago, beginning with the purchase of 10 acres on

864-517: Was city attorney of Jacksonville 1885–1890 and county judge of Morgan County 1894–1897. From 1897 to 1900, Yates was United States collector of internal revenue for the eighth internal revenue district. In 1900 , Yates was elected governor in his own right while he was not yet 40 years of age. He began his campaign as a "dark horse" under the cloak of neutrality, which won him support from Senator Shelby Moore Cullom 's "federal crowd". Congressman William Lorimer , who had backed another candidate in

896-572: Was condensed and published in 1957 as The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined. The Friedmans played a significant role in World War I. Nearly all American military World War I cryptography was done at Fabyan's laboratories. In particular they uncovered a plot against the British by Indian nationalists supported by the Germans. The National Security Agency has recognized Riverbank Laboratories as

928-423: Was done at Fabyan's laboratories, where Elizabeth Wells Gallup and her staff of assistants, including Elizebeth Friedman and William F. Friedman , had spent several years honing cryptology skills and methodology searching for proof of Sir Francis Bacon 's authorship of Shakespeare 's plays using Bacon's own ciphers. This site also contained George's and Nelle's private library and museum. In 1918, Fabyan built

960-412: Was the first privately owned research facility in the United States. In 1916, William Selig , a film producer, sued Fabyan on the grounds that profits from forthcoming films of Shakespeare's works, along with a film on the life of Shakespeare, would be damaged by Fabyan's claims that Bacon was the author. On 9 March 1916, he obtained a temporary injunction stopping the publication of a book by Fabyan on

992-582: Was the forerunner of the NSA. The National Security Agency has recognized Riverbank Laboratories as the birthplace of U.S. cryptology. Fabyan was born on March 15, 1867, in Boston , to George and Isabella Fabyan, the second child and eldest son of five children. He left home at age 17. Eventually ending up in Chicago, he ran the Chicago office of his tycoon father's textile business Bliss, Fabyan & Co. from 1895 on. His inheritance from Bliss, Fabyan & Co. provided

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1024-547: Was to cast a vote in 1933 against the repeal of the 18th Amendment . After leaving Congress, Yates resided in Harbor Springs, Michigan , and Springfield, Illinois , while writing his memoirs. He died in Springfield on April 11, 1936, and was buried in Diamond Grove Cemetery, Jacksonville. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of

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