Victor Norris Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Victor Norris Hamilton a Palestine
-born American cryptologist, defected to the Soviet Union
in 1963. He was rediscovered in a mental hospital in Russia in 1992, where he had been for 20 years.
in around 1919 He graduated from American University of Beirut
, and married Lilly Bell Drake, an American, in Libya, who persuaded him to go to the United States. By his own account, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and was licensed as a teacher in Georgia
but was denied work because he was an Arab. He worked as a doorman, until a colonel recruited him to work for the National Security Agency
(NSA).
Hamilton secured employment with the NSA in 1957, and worked there for two years in the "A.L.L.O." (all other countries) unit, assigned to study and break coded communications of Middle Eastern governments, including (but not limited to) those involving the Soviet Union. He suffered a nervous breakdown in February 1959, but was kept on at the NSA as it had few employees competent in Arabic. He was discharged in June 1959 for mental health reasons. He later claimed that he faked the symptoms so he could be allowed to leave the agency.
published an account by Hamilton of his work at the NSA.
, which sought US POW's who might be in Soviet hands once the USSR fell. Hamilton was convinced that the Pentagon was communicating with him through his television set, and so had stopped listening to the radio. His wife and children, surprised to learn he was still alive, stated that they would seek his repatriation.
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
-born American cryptologist, defected to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1963. He was rediscovered in a mental hospital in Russia in 1992, where he had been for 20 years.
Early life
Hamilton was born in JaffaJaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in around 1919 He graduated from American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
, and married Lilly Bell Drake, an American, in Libya, who persuaded him to go to the United States. By his own account, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and was licensed as a teacher in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
but was denied work because he was an Arab. He worked as a doorman, until a colonel recruited him to work for the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA).
Hamilton secured employment with the NSA in 1957, and worked there for two years in the "A.L.L.O." (all other countries) unit, assigned to study and break coded communications of Middle Eastern governments, including (but not limited to) those involving the Soviet Union. He suffered a nervous breakdown in February 1959, but was kept on at the NSA as it had few employees competent in Arabic. He was discharged in June 1959 for mental health reasons. He later claimed that he faked the symptoms so he could be allowed to leave the agency.
Defection
In 1963, Hamilton defected to the Soviet Union. In July, IzvestiaIzvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
published an account by Hamilton of his work at the NSA.
Mental illness
Hamilton was confined for schizophrenia in the USSR, initially at a Kremlin hospital for high officials. In 1971, he was transferred to Special Psychiatric Hospital No. 5 in Troitskoye, about 30 miles south of Moscow. He was rediscovered there in 1992 by the Ark ProjectArk Project
The Ark Project or Ark Project of Freedom was an organisation co-founded by Susan Mesinai in March 1991 in Waterbury, Connecticut to find out information on non-Russians taken prisoner by the former Soviet Union. These have included Raoul Wallenberg, American military POWs and others...
, which sought US POW's who might be in Soviet hands once the USSR fell. Hamilton was convinced that the Pentagon was communicating with him through his television set, and so had stopped listening to the radio. His wife and children, surprised to learn he was still alive, stated that they would seek his repatriation.