{"id":2166,"date":"2017-04-09T11:51:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-09T11:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/?p=2166"},"modified":"2017-04-09T11:51:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-09T11:51:28","slug":"david-hamer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/","title":{"rendered":"David Hamer"},"content":{"rendered":"

With heavy hearts, David H. Hamer’s wife, Joan, his daughter, son-in-law, and three\u00a0granddaughters announce his death at age 82 on Monday, April 3, 2017. He passed peacefully\u00a0at home, without pain, surrounded by his family. His mind remained sharp and he continued to\u00a0recite limericks until the end.<\/p>\n

David was born in 1934 in Billingham, an area that would later be heavily bombed in WWII.
\nNaughty young boy that he was, during the war he used to take tiny fragments of bombs that\u00a0had exploded and put them on the railroad tracks, so that when the trains drove over them, it\u00a0went “bang.” He served in the British Royal Air Force in an intelligence role, before his career as\u00a0a physical chemist brought him to the United States in 1964. After retiring from his career in\u00a0chemistry, David became a pilot, which resulted in several long-term assignments in Berlin,\u00a0Paris, and London. His travels also took him to India, Nigeria, North Africa, the Middle East, and\u00a0most of the countries of Western Europe.<\/p>\n

With a penchant for words and numbers, his love of crossword puzzles, indirectly, led him to\u00a0cryptology in about 1986. He had been looking for a computer program that could help solve\u00a0crossword puzzles and was referred to the American Cryptogram Association. He never did find\u00a0the computer program he sought but learned about programs that cracked codes and ciphers.\u00a0As he did with most things he found interesting, he dove into cryptology with both feet and\u00a0began writing and lecturing about its history demonstrating the use of Enigma machines to\u00a0anyone who had an interest, from library groups to experts at conferences to his grandchildren –\u00a0who learned how to correctly insert wheels and push buttons.<\/p>\n

He became an internationally recognized expert in cryptology. In 2000, he was appointed
\nvisiting research scholar by the Bletchley Park Trust in England. He was a member of Executive\u00a0Committee of the National Cryptologic Museum Foundation, in Fort Meade, MD, where he also\u00a0served as the liaison officer with Bletchley Park and as Vice-Chairman of the Acquisitions\u00a0Committee. He published several technical papers, and wrote book reviews and articles for Eye\u00a0Spy, U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA), Cryptologia (Editorial Board),\u00a0Cryptogram, Chronological – Historical Association, South West Wales. His website will remain\u00a0at: http:\/\/www.intelligenia.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

As word of his death is now spreading and we are receiving messages, we are becoming
\nincreasingly aware of how much his contributions to the field are appreciated.<\/p>\n

On our part, we are missing a husband, a dad, and a grandpa.<\/p>\n

Per his wishes, there will be no funeral or service. His ashes will be scattered in England. In the\u00a0coming months, there will be a luncheon to celebrate his life. He would love nothing more than\u00a0 for all of us to raise a glass in his name – preferably a glass filled with a good Irish whiskey.
\nDetails to follow. We do hope you will be able to join us.<\/p>\n

In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a memorial contribution to the
\nNational Cryptologic Museum Foundation.<\/p>\n

NCMF.
\nPOB. 1682
\nFt. Meade, MD 20755.
\nCondolences may be sent to:<\/p>\n

Mrs. Joan Hamer & Family.
\n201 Foxglove Trail, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With heavy hearts, David H. Hamer’s wife, Joan, his daughter, son-in-law, and three\u00a0granddaughters announce his death at age 82 on Monday, April 3, 2017. He passed peacefully\u00a0at home, without pain, surrounded by his family. His mind remained sharp and he continued to\u00a0recite limericks until the end. David was born in 1934 in Billingham, an area … Continue reading David Hamer<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With heavy hearts, David H. Hamer’s wife, Joan, his daughter, son-in-law, and three\u00a0granddaughters announce his death at age 82 on Monday, April 3, 2017. He passed peacefully\u00a0at home, without pain, surrounded by his family. His mind remained sharp and he continued to\u00a0recite limericks until the end. David was born in 1934 in Billingham, an area … Continue reading David Hamer →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Timothy Robarts - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f\"},\"headline\":\"David Hamer\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":533,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/\",\"name\":\"David Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/david-hamer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David Hamer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Timothy Robarts - Blog\",\"description\":\"Timothy Robarts\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f\",\"name\":\"David\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/robarts.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/david\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"David Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog","og_description":"With heavy hearts, David H. Hamer’s wife, Joan, his daughter, son-in-law, and three\u00a0granddaughters announce his death at age 82 on Monday, April 3, 2017. He passed peacefully\u00a0at home, without pain, surrounded by his family. His mind remained sharp and he continued to\u00a0recite limericks until the end. David was born in 1934 in Billingham, an area … Continue reading David Hamer →","og_url":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/","og_site_name":"Timothy Robarts - Blog","article_published_time":"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00","author":"David","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/"},"author":{"name":"David","@id":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f"},"headline":"David Hamer","datePublished":"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/"},"wordCount":533,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["General"],"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/","url":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/","name":"David Hamer - Timothy Robarts - Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-04-09T11:51:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/david-hamer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David Hamer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/","name":"Timothy Robarts - Blog","description":"Timothy Robarts","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2b4e7e0b4756787488ced88d16dd848f","name":"David","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16e771b65e0c488164c4f636785f1637f1504bc087e46b64047ce45f1b532701?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David"},"url":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/author\/david\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2167,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166\/revisions\/2167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/robarts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}