Whitfield Diffie and
Martin Hellman are credited with the
invention of
public-key cryptography.
In 1976, Diffie and Hellman of Stanford University, California, submitted a paper New Directions in Cryptography to the IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering), introducing their idea of public-key algorithms.
"New Directions in Cryptography." Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman. 'IEEE Transactions On Information Theory'. Volume IT-22 Number 6. (Periodical. USA.) November 1976.