Who was Alan Turing?
Quick answer
Alan Turing (1912–1954) was a British mathematician and computer scientist, widely called the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. In 1936 he described the “universal computing machine”, now called a Turing machine, the theoretical basis of every modern computer.
Key facts
- Born
- June 23, 1912, London
- Died
- June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire
- Known for
- Turing machine, Enigma codebreaking, Turing test
- Honors
- Appears on the Bank of England £50 note (2021)
The universal machine
In his 1936 paper On Computable Numbers, Turing imagined a simple machine that reads and writes symbols on an endless tape, following a set of rules. He showed that one machine could, in principle, carry out any calculation if given the right instructions. That idea, a single machine that runs different programs, is exactly what a modern computer does.
Breaking Enigma
At Bletchley Park, Britain’s secret codebreaking center, Turing designed an electromechanical machine called the Bombe to crack messages encrypted by Germany’s Enigma machines. Historians believe the codebreakers’ work shortened the war and saved many lives.
The Turing test
In 1950, Turing asked, “Can machines think?” He proposed the imitation game, now called the Turing test: if a person chatting by text can’t reliably tell a machine from a human, the machine might be considered intelligent. The idea still shapes debates about AI.
A tragic end
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality, then illegal in Britain, and forced to undergo hormone treatment. He died in 1954 from cyanide poisoning, ruled a suicide, aged 41.
Recognition
| Year | Honor |
|---|---|
| 1966 | The Turing Award, computing’s highest prize, is created in his name |
| 2009 | The UK government formally apologizes |
| 2013 | Queen Elizabeth II grants him a posthumous royal pardon |
| 2017 | “Turing’s Law” pardons thousands of men convicted under similar laws |
| 2021 | He appears on the Bank of England’s £50 note |
His story was told in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. For another computing pioneer, see who invented the World Wide Web.
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