The cryptologist who helped decipher the Enigma Code.
One of the great challenges facing the Allies during World War II was trying to decipher the most impressive encryption machine of its time. The basis of all Nazi communications. There was a group of British scientists led by Allan Turing who worked hard to decipher the Enigma Code. Among them was a woman. A Brilliant mathematician.
A brilliant student, she won a scholarship to study mathematics at Newnham College, Cambridge. Although she managed to finish her studies in the mathematics degree, she was never officially recognized as the University of Cambridge did not award bachelor's degrees to women until 1948.
Although the university did not give her the degree, one of her professors, Gordon Welchman, noticed her and recruited her to work for the government and try to decipher the Nazis' enigma machine.
Some estimates say that discovery reduced the duration of the war by two to four years and saved thousands of lives. Joan Clarke's work was recognized in 1947, when she was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE).
She was paid 2-3 pounds a week, a much lower salary than her colleagues. In addition, her opportunities for promotion were low (or null) for a long time. As the position of cryptologist did not exist in the British bureaucracy, she had to be promoted to "linguist" to earn a little more. Joan herself said it was funny to fill out questionnaires where she had to write: "Grade: linguist"; "Language: None". Over the years, things changed, and she moved up the ranks to management.
Joan Clarke died on the 4th of September 1996 in Headington, England.
Sources:
https://mujeresconciencia.com/2017/07/13/joan-clarke-la-criptologa-ayudo-descifrar-enigma/