Adelaide Hawkins

Adelaide Hawkins (née Mulheran) (March 6, 1914- July 10, 2008) was a cryptologist at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Cold War Era.

Biography Hawkins was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. Her father was a machinist, but his work was not enough to support the family, so she lived with an aunt to ease financial strain. One year after graduating high school, Hawkins married Ed Hawkins.

Career When a new unit was being set up at her husband's workplace, she was asked to join as the coordinator of information. Her first briefing was given by James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hawkins managed the agency's message center in Washington DC, specializing in secret codes, or ciphers. In March 1942, she was approved to become a Junior Cryptanalyst in the Office of Coordinator of Information. She helped train spies working behind enemy lines in communications. She went on to work with the CIA. She was a member of the “petticoat panel,” an effort by the CIA in 1953 to “to study the problems of professional and clerical advancement to determine…whether they believe there is any discrimination as such against women for advancing professionally.”

Many of Hawkins' documents and reports from her time at the CIA are included in the declassified CIA database titled "From Typist to Trailblazer: The Evolving View of Women in the CIA's Workforce."