Life of Alan Turing, Code-Breaking Computer Scientist

Alan Mathison Turing (1912 –1954) was one of Englands foremost mathematicians and computer scientists. Because of his work in artificial intelligence and codebreaking, along with his groundbreaking Enigma machine, he is credited with ending World War II. Turings life ended in tragedy. Convicted of indecency for his sexual orientation, Turing lost his security clearance, was chemically castrated, and later committed suicide at age 41. Early Years and Education Alan Turing was born in London on June 23, 1912, to Julius and Ethel Turing. Julius was a civil servant who worked in India for much of his career, but he and Ethel wanted to raise their children in Britain. Precocious and gifted as a child, Alans parents enrolled him in the Sherborne School, a prestigious boarding school in Dorset, when he turned thirteen. However, the schools emphasis on a classical education didnt mesh well with Alans natural inclination towards math and science. After Sherborne, Alan moved on to university at Kings College, Cambridge, where he was allowed to shine as a mathematician. At just 22 years old, he presented a dissertation that proved the central limit theorem, a mathematical theory that implies that  probability methods such as bell curves, which  work for normal statistics, can be applied to other types of problems. In addition, he studied logic, philosophy, and cryptanalysis. Over the next few years, he published numerous papers on mathematical theory, as well as designing a universal machine – later called the Turing machine – which could perform any possible math problem, as long as the problem was presented as an algorithm. Turing then attended Princeton University, where he received his PhD.   Codebreaking at Bletchley Park During World War II, Bletchley Park was the home base of British Intelligences elite codebreaking unit. Turing joined the  Government Code and Cypher School  and in September 1939, when war with Germany began,  reported to Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire for duty. Shortly before Turings arrival at Bletchley, Polish intelligence agents had provided the British with information about the German Enigma machine. Polish cryptanalysts had developed a code-breaking machine called the Bomba, but the Bomba became useless in 1940 when German intelligence procedures changed and the Bomba could no longer crack the code. Turing, along with fellow code-breaker Gordon Welchman, got to work building a replica of the Bomba, called the Bombe, which was used to intercept thousands of German messages every month. These broken codes were then relayed to Allied forces, and Turings analysis of German naval intelligence allowed the British to keep their convoys of ships away from enemy U-boats. Before the war ended, Turing invented a speech scrambling device. He named it Delilah, and it was used to distort messages between Allied troops, so that German intelligence agents could not intercept information. Although the scope of his work wasnt made public until the 1970s, Turing was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1946 for his contributions to the codebreaking and intelligence world. Artificial Intelligence In addition to his codebreaking work, Turing is regarded as a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence. He believed that computers could be taught to think independently of their programmers, and devised the Turing Test to determine whether or not a computer was truly intelligent. The test is designed to evaluate whether the interrogator can figure out which answers come from the computer and which come from a human; if the interrogator cant tell the difference, then the computer would be considered intelligent. Personal Life and Conviction In 1952, Turing began a romantic relationship with a 19-year-old man named  Arnold Murray.  During a police investigation into a burglary at Turings home, he admitted that he and Murray were involved sexually. Because homosexuality was a crime in England,  both men were charged and convicted of gross indecency.   Turing was given the option of a prison sentence or probation with chemical treatment designed to reduce the libido. He chose the latter, and underwent a chemical castration procedure over the next twelve months. The treatment left him impotent and caused him to develop gynecomastia,  an abnormal development of breast tissue. In addition, his security clearance was revoked by the British government, and he was no longer permitted to work in the intelligence field. Death and Posthumous Pardon In June 1954, Turings housekeeper found him dead. A post-mortem examination determined that he had died of cyanide poisoning, and the inquest ruled his death as suicide. A half-eaten apple was found nearby.  The apple was never tested for cyanide, but it was determined to be the most likely method used by Turing. In 2009, a British computer programmer began a petition asking the government to posthumously pardon Turing. After several years  and numerous petitions, in December 2013 Queen Elizabeth II exercised the privilege of royal mercy, and signed a pardon overturning Turings conviction. In 2015, Bonhams auction house sold one of Turings notebooks, containing 56 pages of data, for a whopping  $1,025,000. In September 2016, the British government expanded Turings pardon to exonerate thousands of other people  who were convicted under the indecency laws of the past. The process is informally known as the Alan Turing Law. Alan Turing Fast Facts Full Name:  Alan Mathison  TuringOccupation: Mathematician and cryptographerBorn: June 23, 1912 in London, EnglandDied: June 7, 1954 in Wilmslow, England  Key Accomplishments: Developed a code-breaking machine that was essential to the Allied powers victory in World War II