Admiral Sir William Reginald Hall

Admiral Sir William Reginald "Blinker" Hall (British Intelligence officer, 1870-1943)

"How Simple is intelligence!"

• From surviving notes for Hall's lost manuscript housed in the Cambridge Archive. Also mentioned in Erik Larson's Dead Wake (Broadway Books, 2016).

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Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1080-1118 CE)

Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118 CE)

According to Anna Komnene (1083-1153), this is the coded message that her father, Alexios Komnenos, sent to Kaiser John Doukas, announcing the revolt that would eventually make Alexios the emperor of Constantinople:

"We have prepared a very fine dish, not without rich savory sauce. If you would like to share the feast, come as soon as you can to sit with us at the perfect banquet."

• From The Alexiad by Anna Komnene, translated by E. R. A. Sewter (Penguin Classics edition).

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