Charles Bradford Sheppard
Encyclopedia
C. Bradford Sheppard was an American working as a radio engineer for Hazeltine Electronics during World War II
. Sheppard, who worked on radar
in the design office, wished to fight Nazi Germany in the armed forces but was turned down by the US Army due to blindness in one eye. He then asked Soviet intelligence
to arrange Soviet citizenship for himself and his family so that he could join the Soviet army. When the Soviets made clear he would not be allowed to fight he broke off all contact. Soviet intelligence assigned Sheppard the cover name MASTER or MASTER CRAFTSMAN.
After World War II, C. Bradford Sheppard was part of the original Eckert & Mauchly team of electrical engineers which designed and built the first digital computers, notably the ENIAC
, EDVAC
and UNIVAC
machines. In particular he invented some of the first digital delay systems, also known as digital memory, which were based on sending sound waves down a mercury-filled cylinder.
C. Bradford Sheppard was one of the teachers in the original Moore School Lectures
which were given during the summer of 1946.
It is trivial to demonstrate that C. Bradford Sheppard was not a Soviet spy, as the Soviets never held information on the digital computers he helped develop as part of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
. These allegations were part of the infamous McCarthy
campaign and were rebutted by Mauchly
himself when a hearing was eventually afforded him.
decryptions:
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Sheppard, who worked on radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
in the design office, wished to fight Nazi Germany in the armed forces but was turned down by the US Army due to blindness in one eye. He then asked Soviet intelligence
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
to arrange Soviet citizenship for himself and his family so that he could join the Soviet army. When the Soviets made clear he would not be allowed to fight he broke off all contact. Soviet intelligence assigned Sheppard the cover name MASTER or MASTER CRAFTSMAN.
After World War II, C. Bradford Sheppard was part of the original Eckert & Mauchly team of electrical engineers which designed and built the first digital computers, notably the ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
, EDVAC
EDVAC
EDVAC was one of the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was a stored program computer....
and UNIVAC
UNIVAC
UNIVAC is the name of a business unit and division of the Remington Rand company formed by the 1950 purchase of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded four years earlier by ENIAC inventors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and the associated line of computers which continues to this day...
machines. In particular he invented some of the first digital delay systems, also known as digital memory, which were based on sending sound waves down a mercury-filled cylinder.
C. Bradford Sheppard was one of the teachers in the original Moore School Lectures
Moore School Lectures
Theory and Techniques for Design of Electronic Digital Computers was a course in the construction of electronic digital computers held at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering between July 8, 1946 and August 30, 1946, and was the first time any computer topics had...
which were given during the summer of 1946.
It is trivial to demonstrate that C. Bradford Sheppard was not a Soviet spy, as the Soviets never held information on the digital computers he helped develop as part of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
The Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation was founded by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and was incorporated on December 22, 1947. After building the ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania, Eckert and Mauchly formed EMCC to build new computer designs for commercial and military applications...
. These allegations were part of the infamous McCarthy
McCarthy
McCarthy may refer to:* McCarthy * McCarthy, Alaska* McCarthy , an indie pop band* MacCarthy , a Bordeaux wine* McCarthy Tétrault, a Canadian law firm...
campaign and were rebutted by Mauchly
John Mauchly
John William Mauchly was an American physicist who, along with J. Presper Eckert, designed ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic digital computer, as well as EDVAC, BINAC and UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer made in the United States.Together they started the first computer company,...
himself when a hearing was eventually afforded him.
Venona
Sheppard is referenced in the following Venona projectVenona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
decryptions:
- 1589, 1590 KGB New York to Moscow, 30 September 1943
- 886 KGB New York to Moscow, 22 June 1944
- 943 KGB New York to Moscow, 4 July 1944