Alan Turing
By Katie Thurlow
Who was he?
Alan Turing was an English mathematician, code-breaker and pioneer of computer science. He developed the idea of the modern computer and artificial intelligence. During the Second World War he worked for the government breaking the enemies codes and Churchill said he shortened the war by two years.
Backround information!
Alan Turing was born on 23 June, 1912, in London. Alan Turing attended Sherborne School in Dorset and then, later, King's College Cambridge and Princeton University in the USA
His life after the war!
After the war, Alan turned his thoughts to the development of a machine that would logically process information. He worked first for the National Physical Laboratory (1945-1948). His plans were dismissed by his colleagues and the lab lost out on being the first to design a digital computer. It is thought that Alan's blueprint would have secured them the honour, as his machine was capable of computation speeds higher than the others. In 1949, he went to Manchester University where he directed the computing laboratory and developed a body of work that helped to form the basis for the field of artificial intelligence. In 1951 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.
How did he died?
Alan Turing died by committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide following his prosecution for homesexual acts (illegal at that time in the UK).