🏳️🌈TODAY’S PRIDE HERO🏳️🌈
Alan Turing (1912-1954)
An eccentric British mathematician, widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence.
Turing broke the Nazi Enigma code, playing a crucial role in the allied victory in WWII.
#LGBTVoices
Turing spent much of his early life separated from his parents, as his father worked in the British administration of India.
At 13, he was sent to a large boarding school, with a rigid syllabus, so Turing studied advanced modern scientific ideas, such as relativity, on his own.
In his seminal 1936 paper, "On Computable Numbers," Turing proved that the theory of a universal algorithmic method of determining truth in math cannot exist.
He also introduced the notion of a universal computing machine, the "Turing Machine” — the basis of the modern computer.
During WWII, Turing joined the Government Code and Cypher School, where he designed a code-breaking machine known as the Bombe.
Its purpose was to decode the Enigma, the principal cipher machine used by German military to encrypt radio communications, thought to be unbreakable.
For the rest of the war, Bombes supplied the Allies w/ large quantities of military intelligence.
His work shortened the war by more than 2 years and saved over 14 million lives.
At the war's end, Turing was named Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).
After the war, Turing went on to moved to lead the design work for the Automatic Computing Engine, which created the blueprint for modern computers.
In 1950, he wrote a pivotal paper on artificial intelligence, and proposed the “Turing Test," which is remains relevant today.
While homosexuality was illegal in the UK at the time, Alan Turing was open with his friends and colleagues.
In 1952, he was arrested and charged with “indecency” after a brief relationship with another man.
Defiant, Turing did not deny the charges.
As a result, Turing was chemically castrated as punishment for homosexuality. He received a series of hormone injections that left him impotent and also caused gynecomastia, giving him breasts.
Turing refused to let it sway him from his work.
However, as homosexuality was considered a security risk, Turing was stripped of his security clearance and restricted from leaving the country.
It's believed that led to him taking his own life in 1954, by eating an apple laced with cyanide.
Turing was only 41 years old.
At the time of Turing's death, the public had no idea of his contributions to WWIII.
60 years later, Queen Elizabeth II officially pardoned him.
In 2017, the UK passed "The Alan Turing law"— which retroactively pardoned men convicted for homosexuality.
nytimes.com/2017/01/31/wor…
Members of #LGBTVoices are tweeting about a different Pride Hero every day throughout the month of June.
We hope you enjoy reading about these resisters, and the forms of #resistance they used that we echo today.
We hope you RT us and show your support!
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#RELATED: In addition to the collaborative #LGBTVoices project...
I also have a personal parallel #PRIDEMONTH SPOTLIGHT thread!
Check it out for more proud #resisters:
**WWII (ughhh lol)
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