Codebreakers and Groundbreakers

From 24 October 2017 to 4 February 2018 an interdisciplinary exhibition entitled Codebreakers and Groundbreakers is on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge. This exhibit brings together the remarkable intellectual achievements and parallel narratives of two groups of ‘codebreakers’ working at the same time, but independently: those involved in breaking the Second World War codes and those who deciphered the ancient script of Linear B – Europe’s earliest comprehensible writing system. In a display including an Enigma machine, a rare loan from GCHQ, and unique archival documents held at the University of Cambridge, the exhibition explores and celebrates the genius of Second World War codebreakers such as Alan Turing and Bill Tutte; as well as Michael Ventris and John Chadwick (himself a Bletchley codebreaker) who deciphered Linear B. Free of charge. Further information is available at http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/calendar/whatson/codebreakers-and-groundbreakers.