Computers would probably have been
non-existent if it wasn't for famous British mathematician, Alan Turing.
Having been a child prodigy, he went on to pursue his PhD from the
'Princeton University'. Soon, he became an important member of a group
of code-breakers in the 'Government Code and Cypher School'
('GC&CS') in Bletchley Park. He was given the daunting task of
deciphering the ever-changing German codes sent through the ingenious
machine, 'Enigma'. Alan proved the almost impossible task, possible with
his 'bombe' device, which used a technique called 'Banburismus'.
Eventually this mathematician and his team of code-breakers were
successful in defeating the 'Enigma'. However, two code-breakers from
his team were found out to be Soviet spies, and thus the work was
declared highly confidential. For a long time, no records of Turing's
work were available, and the 'Official Secrets Act' prohibited him from
talking about his work to anyone. His homosexuality caused him to be
convicted, though the British government has apologized posthumously in
recent times. His works and life has recently been popularized by the
‘Academy Award’ winning movie, ‘The Imitation Game’, released in 2014.
Read on and explore the life and works of this brilliant mathematician
and code-breaker.
Childhood & Early Life
Alan
Mathison Turing was born to Julius Mathison and Ethel Sara on June 23,
1912, in Paddington, London. Julius was employed with the 'Indian Civil
Service', and with his wife, he had another son, John.
Major Works
This
scientist is known for having pioneered the concept of modern-day
computers, by introducing the idea of a ‘Turing Machine’, which is
simple, and yet capable of solving any form of algorithms that can be
measured and quantified.
Awards & Achievements
- Alan was awarded the 'Smith's Prize' in 1939, by the 'University of Cambridge', for his exceptional contribution in the field of applied mathematics.
- In 1945, this great mathematician was honoured by King George VI, with the 'Most Excellent Order of the British Empire', for his services during the World War II.TriviaThis famous British mathematician was also a fast long-distance runner, who appeared for the 'British Olympic' try-outs in 1948. He lost out to famous runner Thomas Richards, falling short by a meagre 11 minutes.
