Born on June 23rd, 1912, in Maida Vale, London, and succumbing to self-inflicted cyanide poisoning on June 7th, 1954, within his Wilmslow, Cheshire, home, Alan Mathison Turing—a computer scientist, mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and theoretical biologist—is oftentimes neglected in a standardized history classroom, but in reality, is one of the uttermost significant modern historical figures.
Throughout Turing’s childhood and adolescence, his intellect was not an attribute of his that an individual would fail to notice; his educators identified an ingeniousness, but at Sherborne School, he was discouraged from math and the sciences, his instructors advocating for a “classical” approach to academics.
In fact, the headmaster of Sherborne addressed Turing’s parents within a reprimanding letter, asserting, “I hope he will not fall between two stools. If he is to stay at public school, he must aim at becoming educated. If he is to be solely a Scientific Specialist, he is wasting his time at a public school.”
Nevertheless, Turing flourished within his mathematical and scientific interests, and later attended King’s College, Cambridge. It was throughout his enrollment at King’s College that his career manifested results, for he developed what is universally regarded as the “Turing machine.” In essence, the Turing machine was the first demonstration of authentic artificial intelligence, for it applied algorithmic computation that would, if it passed the “Turing test,” present itself as human.
Upon the declaration of World War II between the United Kingdom and Germany, Turing reported to Bletchley Park to participate alongside fellow cryptanalysts of the Government Code & Cipher School (GC&CS) with the objective of decrypting—or, solving—the German Enigma and naval Enigma coding.
The Enigma machine in and of itself was a profound illustration of the modernization of wartime technology, and thus, earning it a substantial notoriety throughout history. Its hardware safeguarded important Nazi military, diplomatic, and commercial telecommunications, and unraveling its complex puzzle would supply the Allied nations with headway in combat.
As a result of his previous studies, Turing had the capacity to formulate a “bombe,” which essentially deducted Nazi coding through a series of electric settings. The leading bombe was installed on March 18th, 1940, and throughout the wearying timeline of World War II, there were upwards of two hundred operating bombes.
With the implementation of Turing’s brilliance, numberless Allied livelihoods were preserved, his role extending into their victory against Nazi Germany.
However, in spite of his triumphs, Alan Turing’s respectable tale did not have a “happily ever after.”
Upon his mentioned attendance to Sherborne School, historians chronicled a notable relationship with a classmate, Christopher Morcom. Morcom is routinely estimated to be Turing’s “first love,” invigorating him with a sense of a vibrant future. One that, devastatingly, was dimmed, for Morcom grew ill with complications of bovine tuberculosis from consuming diseased cow’s milk.
In communication with Morcom’s mother, Turing expressed, “I am sure I could not have found anywhere another companion so brilliant and yet so charming and unconceited. I regarded my interest in my work, and in such things as astronomy (to which he introduced me) as something to be shared with him and I think he felt a little the same about me … I know I must put as much energy if not as much interest into my work as if he were alive, because that is what he would like me to do.”
Following this adversity, Turing concealed his sexual orientation, even proposing an engagement to his mathematician and cryptanalyst colleague at Hut 8, Joan Clarke, in 1941. In spite of their impending marriage, Turing divulged his homosexuality to Clarke, who was documented as “unfazed” by the confession. Upon consideration, the pair decidedly concluded their romantic relationship.
Ensuing World War II in January 1952, Turing pursued additional relationships, chiefly with Arnold Murray, an unemployed individual, the duo having been introduced in Manchester and accompanied one another to a rendezvous for lunch.
On January 23rd, 1952, a burglar vandalized Turing’s residence, which he was prompted to give an account of to law enforcement. It was throughout this investigation, however, that an acknowledgment of Turing and Murray’s sexual relationship was unveiled.
In the court of law on March 31st, 1952, Turing pled guilty, and was sentenced to a conditional probation to weather hormonal treatment medically conceived to diminish sex drive, or “libido”—otherwise recognized as chemical castration.
Turing’s despicable injustices that eventually provoked his despairing suicide were narrated throughout the 2015 Academy Award-winning film for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch portraying Alan Turing himself.
Moreover, approximately sixty years following Turing’s demise, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed a “posthumous royal pardon” unto his name.
On October 20th, 2016, British parliament continued with the posthumous pardoning, decriminalizing “tens of thousands” of gay and bisexual males who were convicted of sex offenses that were abolished in 1967. Furthermore, the proposal will be applicable to withstanding convicted Britons, providing them with opportunities to resolve any and all tarnish to their names.
British government has coined the proposition “Turing Law,” honoring the battered heroism within Alan Turing.
George Montague, an inhabitant of Brighton, pronounced that he will not be accepting the government’s pardon, as it is “an admission of guilt,” as opposed to an apology.
