Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
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(Conel) Hugh O'Donel Alexander (19 April 1909 – 15 February 1974) was a cryptanalyst and chess player, earning the title of International Master. He worked on the German Enigma machine at Bletchley Park during World War II, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis division at GCHQ for over 20 years. In chess, he was twice British chess champion.
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[edit] Early life and education
Hugh Alexander was born on 19 April 1909 in Cork, Ireland, the eldest child of Conel William Long Alexander, an engineering professor at University College, Cork, and Hilda Barbara Bennett.[1] His father died in 1920, and the family moved to Birmingham in England where he attended King Edward's School.[1] He won a scholarship to study mathematics at King's College, Cambridge in 1928, graduating with a first in 1931.[1]
From 1932, he taught mathematics in Winchester, and married Enid Constance Crichton on 22 December 1934.[1] In 1938 he left teaching and became head of research at the John Lewis Partnership.[1]
[edit] Bletchley Park and GCHQ
In February 1940 Alexander arrived at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking centre during World War II. He joined Hut 6, the section tasked with breaking German Army and Air Force Enigma messages. In 1941, he transferred to Hut 8, the corresponding hut working on Naval Enigma. He became deputy head of Hut 8 under Alan Turing. Alexander was more involved with the day-to-day operations of the hut than Turing, and, while Turing was visiting the United States, Alexander formally became the head of Hut 8 around November 1942.
In October 1944, Alexander was transferred to work on the Japanese JN-25 code.
In mid-1946, Alexander joined GCHQ, which was the post-war successor organisation to the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at Bletchley Park. By 1949, he had been promoted to the head of "Section H" (cryptanalysis), a post he retained until his retirement in 1971.
[edit] Chess career
- Represented Cambridge University in the Varsity chess matches of 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932 (was at King's College, Cambridge).
- Won the British Chess Championship in 1938 and 1956.
- Represented England in the Chess Olympiad six times: 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1954, 1958.
- Non-playing captain of England 1964-70
- Awarded the International Master title (1950).
- Awarded the International Master for Correspondence Chess title (1970).
- Best tournament result: first equal (with David Bronstein), Hastings Premier 1953/54, defeating Soviet grandmasters David Bronstein and Alexander Tolush in individual games.
- Chess columnist, The Sunday Times, 1960s & 1970s.
[edit] Books
- C. H. O'D. Alexander (1972). Fischer v. Spassky. Vintage. ISBN 0-394-71830-5.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Harry Golombek, revised by Ralph Erskine, "Alexander, (Conel) Hugh O'Donel (1909-1974), chess player and cryptanalyst" in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
- Harry Golombek and William Hartston, The Best Games of C. H. O'D. Alexander (1976).
- Sir Stuart Milner-Barry, "A Tribute to Hugh Alexander", in Harry Golombek and William Hartston, The Best Games of C H O'D Alexander (1976), pp. 1–9 [1](PDF).
- O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
- British Chess Magazine, April 1974, p117 & June 1974, p202 (obituary and tribute)
- Ken Whyld, Chess: The Records (Guinness Books, 1986)
- Obituary in The Times
