Spotlight: The Legacy of Alan Turing
This Saturday, June 23rd, marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Alan Turing – without Turing, this website, the CMS, or modern computing as we know it may have never existed as it is now.
One of Turing’s most famous contributions was the Bombe decryption, a crucial tool in deciphering the German Enigma codes and defeating the Nazis in World War II. He also designed the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine), one of the first machines to operate on memory storage, and developed a test that could judge artificial intelligence versus human intelligence. Not only were his ideas and inventions ahead of his time, but so was cultural acceptance of his way of life; after receiving chemical castration in punishment for being gay, Turing was driven to suicide in 1954.
Alan Turing’s legacy was enormous, and many celebrations are occurring in celebration of his birthday, including an exhibit at the London Science Museum.
To find out more about Alan Turing’s legacy, the details of his tragic death, and the celebrations of his life, visit this BBC article.