ALAN TURING

Alan Turing was a gay English mathematician who was recruited into the code-breaking unit in Bletchly Park during World War 2. For a time he led Hut 8, the section that was responsible for German naval cryptanalysis. Here, he devised a number of techniques for speeding the breaking of German ciphers, including improvements to the pre-war Polish bombe method, an electro-mechanical machine that could find settings for the Enigma machine.

Turing played a crucial role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic, and in so doing helped win the war. It is estimated that that his work shortened the war by two years and saved over 14 million lives.

Outside of WW2, Alan was considered the “father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence”. He provided a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine, which can be considered a model of a general-purpose computer. Despite these accomplishments, he was never fully recognised in his home country during his lifetime due to the prevalence of homophobia at the time.

Alan was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts; the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 had mandated that "gross indecency" was a criminal offence in the UK. He accepted chemical castration treatment as an alternative to prison. In 1954, it is reported Alan took his own life and many considered to be a result of the homophobia he experienced.

In 2009, following an internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for "the appalling way he was treated". Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon in 2013. The "Alan Turing Law" is now an informal term for a 2017 law in the United Kingdom that retroactively pardoned men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.

Alan Turing is a Certified Proud Icon because not only did his work save countless lives, his legacy continues to change the world we live while providing peace to the families of LGBTQ+ who were persecuted in the past.