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Alan Mathison Turing’s 100th birthday: Google pays tribute with a doodle

Published on Jun 23 2012 // Political News

NEW DELHI: Google on Saturday marked the celebrations of the 100th birth anniversary of computer scientist Alan Mathison Turing with an attractive doodle. Turing, who is also known as the founder of computer science, played a significant role in breaking the wartime Enigma- enciphered messages.

Alan Turing was born in London on 23 June, 1912 and from a very early age he showed deep interest toward science and mathematics. As he grew, Turing showed exceptional ability in solving advanced problems. His innovative mind conducted several test and also worked on the design of the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE). In 1946, he presented a paper which is known as the first elaborate design of a stored-program computer.

His life is full of achievements and because of this extraordinary work he was appointed Reader in the Mathematics Department at the University of Manchester in 1948. His contribution in mathematics and ‘Computing machinery and intelligence’ are still considered to be significant work.

Turing was convicted of his homosexual actions as criminal act in the United Kingdom in 1952. After two years of conviction on 8 June, 1954 he was reported dead due to cyanide poisoning which was believed to be a suicide.

In 2009, after a campaign the then prime minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown issued an apology for Turing’s treatment on behalf of the British government.

In Manchester, ahead of his 100th birthday, to pay tribute to this codebreaking genius an award has been named after Alan Turing for people who makes significant contribution to help victims of homophobia. The award will be conferred as part of the Lesbian and Gay Foundation’s annual Homo Heroes Awards.

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