Britain to put WWII codebreaker Alan Turing on 50-pound note
The man who helped crack the infamous German "Enigma" encryption device during World War II and was a pioneer in the computing field will appear on the new 50-pound note in the U.K. — the same nation that prosecuted him for being gay.
Alan Turing worked in the secret Bletchley Park codebreaking center, where he created the "Turing bombe," a forerunner to modern computers that helped the British decrypt coded German communications. He also developed a test to measure artificial intelligence that's still relevant today, and built a prestigious career in British academia.
“I hope it will go some way to acknowledging his unprecedented contribution to society and science,†said former lawmaker John Leech, who previously led a campaign to posthumously pardon Turing. “But more importantly I hope it will serve as a stark and rightfully painful reminder of what we lost in Turing, and what we risk when we allow that kind of hateful ideology to win.â€
The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, poses for a photo with the artwork for the concept of the new 50-pound notes, after announcing this month that the notes would honor Alan Turing. (AP)
Read more at: https://www.foxnews.com/world/alan-turing-britain-wwii-codebreaker-50-pound-note
wikipedia World War II hero, I believe persecuted for being gay per the first paragraph, it was illegal in those days.
