Friedman was born Wolf Friedman (Yiddish: װאָלףֿ פֿרידמאַן, Russian: Вольф Ф. Фридман), in Chişinău, Bessarabia, the son of Frederick Friedman, a Jew from Bucharest who worked as a translator and linguist for

The United States government decided to set up its own cryptological service, and sent Army officers to Riverbank to train under Friedman. To support the program, Friedman wrote a series of technical monographs, completing seven by early 1918. He then enlisted in

During the 1920s, several new cipher machines were developed generally based on using typewriter mechanics and basic electrical circuitry. An early example was the Hebern Rotor Machine

Friedman's health began to fail in the late 1960s, and he died in 1969. Friedman and his wife Elizebeth are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Friedman and his wife donated their archives to the library of the George C. Marshall Foundation,

Another of Fabyan's pet projects was research into secret messages which Sir Francis Bacon had allegedly hidden in various texts during the

Following World War II, Friedman remained in government signals intelligence. In 1949 he became head of the cryptographic division of the newly formed Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) and in 1952 became chief cryptologist for the

Friedman had two children with his wife, Elizebeth. Barbara Friedman (later Atchison) (born 1923), and John Ramsay Friedman (1926–2010).