British computer pioneer and WWII codebreaker Alan Turing has today been given a posthumous royal pardon.
During WWII, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire which cracked Nazi codes, including those enciphered on the Enigma machine. This was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort and undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives. For his work, Turing was awarded an OBE by the King in 1945.
However, in 1952 he was prosecuted for being a homosexual and was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison. He committed suicide just two years later by poisoning himself with cyanide.
But now, over 59 years after his death at the age of 41, Turing has finally been pardoned.
The pardon was granted yesterday by the Queen under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling. Issuing pardons is one of the Queen's few powers. Turing's pardon comes into effect today.
"Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
"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conviction for homosexual activity, a sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory and which has now been repealed."
As well as breaking German codes and helping to shorten WWII and save thousands of lives, Turing also worked at the National Physical Laboratory where he designed the ACE, one of the first designs for a stored-program computer. He is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence.
Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing
24 December 2013
BBC News
Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon for being chemically castrated for being gay, as Danny Shaw reports
Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon.
It addresses his 1952 conviction for homosexuality for which he was punished by being chemically castrated.
The conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop the code-cracking work that had proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.
The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.
'Appalling' treatment
"Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives.
Turing and his clever team at Bletchley Park not only massively aided the Allied war effort and helped shorten the war, he is also considered to be the father of Artificial Intelligence. 2012 saw a series of events that celebrated his life and work. The events were held to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth
Turing's work helped accelerate Allied efforts to read German Naval messages enciphered with the Enigma machine. He also contributed some more fundamental work on codebreaking that was only released to public scrutiny in April 2012.
"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," said Mr Grayling.
"Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man."
The pardon comes into effect on 24 December.
During WWII, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire which cracked Nazi codes, including those enciphered on the Enigma machine. This was a substantial aid to the Allied war effort and undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives. For his work, Turing was awarded an OBE by the King in 1945.
However, in 1952 he was prosecuted for being a homosexual and was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison. He committed suicide just two years later by poisoning himself with cyanide.
But now, over 59 years after his death at the age of 41, Turing has finally been pardoned.
The pardon was granted yesterday by the Queen under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling. Issuing pardons is one of the Queen's few powers. Turing's pardon comes into effect today.
"Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
"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."
As well as breaking German codes and helping to shorten WWII and save thousands of lives, Turing also worked at the National Physical Laboratory where he designed the ACE, one of the first designs for a stored-program computer. He is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence.
Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing
24 December 2013
BBC News
Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon for being chemically castrated for being gay, as Danny Shaw reports
Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon.
It addresses his 1952 conviction for homosexuality for which he was punished by being chemically castrated.
The conviction meant he lost his security clearance and had to stop the code-cracking work that had proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.
The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling.
'Appalling' treatment
"Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling.
He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives.
Turing and his clever team at Bletchley Park not only massively aided the Allied war effort and helped shorten the war, he is also considered to be the father of Artificial Intelligence. 2012 saw a series of events that celebrated his life and work. The events were held to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth
Turing's work helped accelerate Allied efforts to read German Naval messages enciphered with the Enigma machine. He also contributed some more fundamental work on codebreaking that was only released to public scrutiny in April 2012.
"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," said Mr Grayling.
"Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man."
The pardon comes into effect on 24 December.