Alan Turing
Born 1912 · Age 114
English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and pioneer of theoretical computer science and mathematical biology; key figure at Bletchley Park and creator of concepts such as the Turing machine and the Turing test.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Maida Vale, London
Alan Mathison Turing was born in Maida Vale (later the Colonnade Hotel), London.
Started primary education at St Michael's (approx.)
Enrolled at St Michael's primary school (attended from age 6 to 9).
Discovered 'Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know'
At about age 10 Turing discovered Brewster's book and credited it with opening his eyes to science.
Started Hazelhurst Preparatory School
Educated at Hazelhurst Preparatory School in Frant, Sussex (attended 1922–1926).
Entered Sherborne School (boarding)
At 13–14 he began at Sherborne School in Dorset; made the 60-mile solo bicycle journey to term on the day of the 1926 General Strike.
Solved advanced mathematical problems at Sherborne
Demonstrated exceptional ability, solving problems beyond his taught curriculum (including calculus-level problems) while still at school.
Encountered and grasped Einstein's work
At about 16 Turing read and understood aspects of Einstein's work, reportedly deducing implications not explicit in the texts.
Death of Christopher Morcom — formative friendship lost
Friend and early intellectual companion Christopher Morcom died of complications of bovine tuberculosis; event greatly affected Turing's life and work.
Scholarship to King's College, Cambridge
Awarded an £80/year scholarship to King's College; began undergraduate studies in mathematics (Feb 1931).
Graduated from King's College with first-class honours
Completed undergraduate studies in mathematics and wrote dissertation 'On the Gaussian error function' (dissertation delivered Nov 1934, accepted Mar 16, 1935).
Elected Fellow of King's College, Cambridge
Elected a Fellow on the strength of his dissertation; served as a lecturer at King's.
First academic paper published
Published a one-page article 'Equivalence of left and right almost periodicity' (sent 23 April 1935).
Awarded Smith's Prize
Received the Smith's Prize (noted in biographical infobox as 1936).
Sent first draft to Max Newman; Church published related result
Correspondence and parallel results with Alonzo Church around the decidability problem; Turing's approach became highly influential.
Delivered 'On Computable Numbers' paper
Completed and delivered 'On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem' (published Nov/Dec 1936); introduced Turing machine and universal machine concepts.
Went to Princeton University as visiting fellow
Spent September 1936 – July 1938 studying under Alonzo Church; worked on computability and built electro-mechanical devices.
Awarded PhD from Princeton
Received doctorate for thesis 'Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals' (introduced ordinal logic and oracle machines).
Began part-time work with Government Code and Cypher School
Started part-time cryptanalytic work with GC&CS (precursor to wartime role at Bletchley Park).
Reported to Bletchley Park for wartime codebreaking
Officially reported to Bletchley Park the day after Britain declared war on Germany; signed Official Secrets Act.
Solved essential part of German naval indicator and conceived Banburismus
In December 1939 he solved the naval indicator procedure and conceived Banburismus, a sequential statistical technique to reduce bombe work.
First bombe installed (based on Turing's specification)
The first working bombe machine, specified by Turing, was installed and used to search Enigma settings.
Action This Day memo to Winston Churchill
Turing (first named) co-signed a direct letter to Churchill requesting more resources for codebreaking; led to Churchill's 'ACTION THIS DAY' memo (18 Nov 1941) ordering priority support.
Devised 'Turingery' for Tunny/Lorenz cipher
Invented a wheel-breaking method for the Lorenz (Tunny) cipher (often called Turingery) used at Bletchley Park.
Visited the United States for bombe and cryptanalysis collaboration
Traveled to Washington to work with US Navy cryptanalysts on the naval Enigma and bombe construction; assisted at Bell Labs on secure speech devices.
Returned to Bletchley Park as general consultant
Returned in March 1943; Hugh Alexander had taken on day-to-day head role of Hut 8; Turing served as a general consultant.
Bletchley Park bombes scale-up milestone
By the end of the war more than two hundred bombes were in operation (major automated tool for attacking Enigma).
Moved to National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to design ACE
Worked at NPL on the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), one of the first detailed stored-program computer designs.
Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Turing was appointed OBE by King George VI for wartime services (work remained secret under Official Secrets Act).
Presented paper on ACE design (19 Feb 1946)
Presented the first detailed design of a stored-program computer (ACE) at the NPL; significant influence on subsequent computers.
Sabbatical year at Cambridge; 'Intelligent Machinery' report produced
Took a sabbatical and produced a seminal report 'Intelligent Machinery' (not published in his lifetime) advancing ideas about machine intelligence.
Appointed Reader at University of Manchester
Joined Max Newman's Computing Machine Laboratory as Reader and worked on Manchester early computers.
Began work on computer chess program (Turochamp) with D.G. Champernowne
Started writing a chess program for a computer that did not yet exist; program (Turochamp) completed by 1950.
Deputy director of Manchester Computing Machine Laboratory; Ferranti consultancy
Became deputy director of the laboratory and wrote the first Programmer's Manual for the Manchester Mark 1; recruited by Ferranti as a consultant (payments continued until his death).
Published 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence' (Turing test)
Published the influential paper proposing an operational test for machine intelligence (the 'Turing test').
Pilot ACE executed its first program (10 May 1950)
Pilot ACE, built based on ACE ideas, executed its first program; influenced later computers worldwide.
Turned to mathematical biology (pattern formation)
Became interested in morphogenesis and reaction–diffusion systems; began work that led to major publication.
Published 'The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis' (Jan 1952)
Published seminal paper modeling chemical reaction–diffusion processes to explain biological pattern formation (Turing patterns).
Convicted of 'gross indecency' and underwent chemical castration
Following a police investigation, Turing pleaded guilty to homosexual acts and accepted hormone treatment (chemical castration) in lieu of prison; lost security clearance and certain government work.
Attempted to run Turochamp on Ferranti Mark 1 (insufficient power)
Tried to implement his chess program on the Ferranti Mark 1 in 1952 but the machine lacked capacity; instead 'ran' it manually earlier (around 1950).
Died from cyanide poisoning (inquest: suicide)
Turing died on 7 June 1954 in Wilmslow; inquest recorded suicide by cyanide poisoning though accident remains a possibility.
Experimental confirmation of predicted oscillating chemical reactions (1960s)
Turing had predicted oscillating chemical reactions (Turing patterns); similar phenomena (Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction) were observed in the 1960s, confirming aspects of his theory.
ACM establishes Turing Award (named in his honour)
An annual top award in computer science was established and named the ACM A. M. Turing Award, cementing his legacy.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for Turing's treatment
Following public campaigns, PM Gordon Brown issued an official apology in 2009 for the 'appalling way' Turing was treated after his conviction.
Release of wartime papers previously withheld under Official Secrets Act
Two of Turing's wartime papers on probability and statistics were released to the public (papers had been withheld for ~70 years).
Centenary blue plaque unveiled at Hastings home
A blue plaque marking Turing's stay at Baston Lodge, St Leonards-on-Sea, was unveiled on 23 June 2012 to mark his centenary.
Royal pardon granted by Queen Elizabeth II
In 2013 Turing was posthumously granted a royal pardon for his 1952 conviction.
Release of film 'The Imitation Game' (popular culture recognition)
A major feature film about Turing's life starring Benedict Cumberbatch premiered in 2014, significantly raising public awareness.
UK 'Alan Turing law' enacted (retroactive pardons)
A 2017 law retroactively pardoned thousands cautioned or convicted under historical legislation criminalizing homosexual acts; informally called the 'Alan Turing law'.
Named 'greatest scientist of the 20th century' in BBC audience vote
A BBC series audience vote named Turing the greatest scientist of the 20th century (public recognition milestone).
Portrait on Bank of England £50 note released
Turing's portrait appeared on the Bank of England £50 note first released 23 June 2021 to coincide with his birthday.
Key Achievement Ages
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