Alan Turing: The Unsung Hero of WWII

Alan Turing is considered an unsung hero of World War II because his work was instrumental in breaking the German Enigma code, which gave the Allies the edge they needed to win the war Turing was a leading participant in breaking the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park. He used statistical techniques to optimize the trial of different possibilities in the code breaking process Turing's work laid the foundation for modern computer science and artificial intelligence. He is often called "the father of the computer". His contributions include: The binary multiplier, an electrical hardware basic to computing devices Turing machines, hypothetical devices that became known as computers The concept of Turing Machine, which proves that automatic computation cannot solve all mathematical problems Turing's contributions went largely unrecognized until the late 20th century. He was convicted of homosexuality and chemically castrated near the end of his life. He received a royal pardon for this conviction some 60 years after his death. In 2017, the Alan Turing Law was introduced, pardoning almost 50,000 men who were charged with gross indecency. Turing is now featured on the Bank of England's £50 note.