From Florence Nightingale to Richard the Lionheart history is filled with gay heroes, on September 10th such a hero received a well overdue apology from the British government.

Alan Turing was born in England in 1912 and simply put was a mathematical genius. He was so highly influential in the development of computers that he is sometimes referred to as the father of computer science.  However, he is perhaps more well known for breaking the Enigma code used by the Nazi’s in World War 2 (some say this shortened the war by up to two years). It is for these reasons, as well as all his other accomplishments that, in 1999, Turing was listed in Time Magazine’s ‘100 most important people of the century’ list.

However in 1952 Turing was charged with gross indecency when he admitted, to police investigating a break in at his home, that he was having a sexual affair with a man called Arnold Murray.  He was given the choice between imprisonment and probation and he chose probation, however part of that deal was his agreeing to undergo hormone treatment and this ultimately lead to chemical castration.

Tragically Turing committed suicide in 1954, an apple lay half eaten by his body and some have speculated that this lead to the Apple symbol we all associate with computers today.

In his apology Gordon Brown said:

“It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the Second World War could have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely.”

“While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair, and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him”

Brown went on to say

“This recognition of Alan’s status as one of Britain’s most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality, and long overdue.”

You can read the full statement here.

Better late than never but it really saddens me when I read stories like this.  That even someone who had saved so many lives could be treated like this is utterly disgusting.  Worse is the knowledge that this kind of thing is still happening today.

His memorial which was placed in the Sackville Park in Manchester in 2001 is inscribed with the Bertrand Russell quote:

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty – a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture

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