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Alan Turing was a Cambridge mathematician who published a paper in 1936 “On Computable numbers” which was the theoretical basis for the computer...
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that we use today. Aided by Gordon Welchman he designed the Bombe to speed up the code braking process. This was a more sophisticated version of the Bomba produced by the Poles. He is recognised today as a Hero, Great Mathematician, Philospher, Code-breaker, Visionary and the Founder of Computer Science. Read about the life of a hero: 23rd June 1912: - Alan Mathison Turing was born in Paddington, London, in a nursing home. - He was from an middle class family and was the second child of Julius Mathison and Ethel Sara Turing. He had an elder brother John. 1926 - 1931: - At the age of 14, Alan attended a public school, the Sherbourne school, where he followed a traditional curriculum. - At the age of 16, he discovered the works of the scientist Einstein. 1931 – 1934: - Alan Turing attended Kings College, Cambridge, after failing to win a scholarship of his first choice; Trinity College, Cambridge. - He graduated in 1934, with a distinction in Maths. 1935: - He was elected a fellow of Kings College, following his dissertation on Central Limit Theorem. 28th May 1936: - Alan Turing wrote his first paper "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem". In it he provided a definition of computation, which is believed to be the foundation of modern computer science. 1937 - 1938: - He travelled to America to study at Princeton University under the American logician; Alonzo Church, who specialised in more advanced work in Logic and Mathematics. 1939: - Alan Turing received his PhD from Princeton in 1938 and then returned to Britain where he joined the war effort. 1939 – 1945: - Alan worked on mastering the German enciphering machine ‘Enigma’ at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes. Bletchley Park was the wartime Communications Headquarters for Britain. Turing became very important after making a great contribution to the decryption of the Enigma and the Lorenz SZ 40/42. - He was appointed as the head of ‘hut 8’ for a time. Hut 8 was the section responsible for reading German naval signals. It was during this period that Alan Turing invented a statistical technique named ‘Banburismus’ which would eventually enable him to break the Naval Enigma. - Turing proposed marriage to his co-worker Joan Clarke in the Spring of 1941, but unfortunately by the summer of 1941, there engagement had been broken off. - In November 1942, Turing travelled to the United States where he worked on Naval Enigma with Naval cryptanalysts. - In March 1943, Alan returned to Bletchley Park where he became a consultant for cryptanalysis. His achievements were shrouded in secrecy. - Alan Turing was awarded an OBE for his wartime services in 1945. - He was a powerful marathon runner and nearly qualified for the British Olympic team in 1948. 1948 - 1950: - Alan Turing worked on the design of ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) at the National Physical Laboratory between the years of 1945 - 1947. - On the 19th February 1946, he wrote a paper which was the first, in Britain, of a stored program computer. - During this time, Alan Turing moved to Manchester University to pioneer development of the computer and began writing his second paper; ‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’ - In 1949, at Manchester University he was appointed deputy director of the Computing laboratory. - In 1950, Turing wrote; ‘Computer Machinery and Intelligence’ . This paper discussed the theory of artificial intelligence and introduced an experiment, now known as the ’Turing test’. 1952 - 1954: - The last couple of years before his death, Alan Turing concentrated on Morphogenesis and published a paper in 1952 named ‘The chemical basis of Morphogenesis’. 7th June 1954: - Turing died of cyanide poisoning and was found by his cleaner the next day. - It is believed he ate an apple laced with cyanide and this was confirmed by a post mortem examination. - There were many who believe that Alan was assassinated or died accidentally, however the coroner recorded a verdict of suicide. - Alan Turing was cremated on 12th June 1954 at Woking Crematorium.
Subjects: Maths, Science, ICT, History
Key Stages: KS2, KS3, KS4 Learning Groups: Teachers, Parents, Pupils Keywords: WWII, Station X, Code, Cypher, Enigma, Bombe, Turing, Computer Science Related Links: |
