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Alan turing enigma12/25/2023 ![]() ![]() And a sign of the growing reputation of Alan Turing, a growing sense of what he did for this country and what so many other people at Bletchley Park did." With the situation in Russia regarding LGBT rights, and the recent decision by the supreme court in India to reinstate the criminalisation of homosexuality, "for this to come from the Queen, is going to send a really important message, especially to the Commonwealth", Leavitt added.Prof S Barry Cooper, professor of mathematical logic at the University of Leeds and chair of the Turing Centenary Advisory Committee, said: "There was a slight worry that the private member's bill had got slightly bogged down. "It was such a misjudgment of Alan Turing because he was so honest, and was so patriotic." "There was this paranoid idea in 1950s England of the homosexual traitor, that he would be seduced by a Russian agent and go over to the other side," Leavitt said. The conviction had had "a profound and devastating" effect on Turing, Leavitt said, as the mathematician felt he was being "followed and hounded" by the police "because he was considered a security risk". Writer David Leavitt, professor of English at Florida University and author of The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer (2006), said it was "great news". ![]() Loss of security clearance, state distrust and surveillance may have been crucial factors in the two years leading up to his death in 1954." "A more substantial action would be the release of files on Turing's secret work for GCHQ in the cold war. So, for me, this symbolic action adds nothing. "It's far more important that in the 30 years since I brought the story to public attention, LGBT rights movements have succeeded with a complete change in the law – for all. If anything, it suggests that a sufficiently valuable individual should be above the law which applies to everyone else. Unfortunately, I cannot feel that such a 'pardon' embodies any good legal principle. He added: "The pardon gives further recognition for his outstanding contribution not only to second world war codebreaking but also the development of computing."ĭr Andrew Hodges, tutorial fellow in mathematics at Wadham College, Oxford, and author of the acclaimed biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, said: "Alan Turing suffered appalling treatment 60 years ago and there has been a very well intended and deeply felt campaign to remedy it in some way. Iain Standen, chief executive of the Bletchley Park Trust, said Turing was "a visionary mathematician and genius whose work contributed enormously both to the outcome of the war and the computer age". There was mixed reaction to the announcement. On this occasion, a pardon has been issued without either requirement being met. The request was declined by the then justice minister Lord McNally on the grounds that Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence.Ī pardon is normally granted only when the person is innocent of the offence and where a request has been made by someone with a vested interest, such as a family member. An e-petition calling for a pardon received 37,404 signatures when it was closed in November last year. In 2009, an "unequivocal apology" was issued by then prime minister Gordon Brown. There had been a long campaign to clear Turing's name, including a private member's bill. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the father of modern computing." ![]() The prime minister added: "His actions saved countless lives. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man."ĭavid Cameron described Turing as a "remarkable man". "Dr Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. "His later life was overshadowed by his conviction for homosexual activity, a sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory and which has now been repealed. His brilliance was put into practice at Bletchley Park during the second world war, where he was pivotal to breaking the Enigma code, helping to end the war and save thousands of lives. He died of cyanide poisoning in 1954, aged 41.Īnnouncing the pardon, Grayling said: "Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind. His criminal record resulted in the loss of his security clearance and meant he was no longer able to work for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), where he had been employed following service at Bletchley Park during the war. He was given experimental chemical castration as a "treatment". He was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after admitting a sexual relationship with a man. Turing was considered to be the father of modern computer science and was most famous for his work in helping to create the "bombe" that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines.
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