Alan Turing Biography
Early Life and Education
Alan Mathison Turing was born upon June 23, 1912, in Maida Vale, London, England. He was the 2nd child of Julius Mathison Turing, a member of the Indian Civil Service, and Ethel Sara Turing, the daughter of the chief engineer of the Madras Railways. Alan's early education happened in different schools due to his dad's work dedications in India. From a young age, Turing displayed remarkable intelligence and a deep interest in science and mathematics, which set him apart from his peers.
In 1926, Turing attended Sherborne School, a prominent public school in Dorset. His ability in mathematics appeared regardless of his difficulties with the classical topics stressed by the school. Turing continued his studies at King's College, University of Cambridge, from 1931 to 1934, where he excelled in mathematics. In 1935, after his election as a Fellow of King's College, Turing began work on the mathematical foundations of logic, which would later on influence his biggest contributions to computer technology and cryptography.
Mathematical Contributions and Turing Machine
In 1936, Turing released his critical paper "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem", in which he introduced the concept of a theoretical computing gadget, now referred to as a Turing device. This work addressed basic questions about computation and prepared for computer science. The Turing machine, a simple abstract device, caught the vital principles of a digital computer system and demonstrated the limits of what might be calculated.
Turing's work was highly affected by the mathematical logician
Alonzo Church, with whom he corresponded during his time at Princeton University. Turing completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at Princeton in 1938 under Church's guidance, further strengthening his function as a pioneering thinker in theoretical computer science.
World War II and Codebreaking
During World War II, Turing played a vital function in the Allied efforts to decipher the secret communications of the Axis powers. He signed up with the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, where he dealt with breaking the German Enigma cipher. Turing's genius contributed significantly to the development of the Bombe, an electro-mechanical device created to expedite the decryption procedure of Enigma-encrypted messages.
Among his associates at Bletchley Park were notable figures such as Gordon Welchman, Hugh Alexander, and Joan Clarke. The success of Turing and his group at deciphering the Enigma is credited with reducing the war and conserving countless lives.
Post-War Contributions and the Concept of Artificial Intelligence
After the war, Turing continued his operate in computing at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), where he established the style for the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), a proposed electronic stored-program digital computer system. Although the full-scale ACE was never ever constructed, Turing's concepts formed the foundation for future developments in calculating innovation.
In 1950, Turing checked out the world of artificial intelligence with his paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", which introduced the principle of what is now known as the Turing Test. This test proposed a method to identify if a machine can display human-like intelligence.
Personal Life and Legacy
Turing's personal life was fraught with obstacles, particularly due to the societal mindsets towards homosexuality in the mid-20th century UK. In 1952, Turing faced legal prosecution for homosexual acts, which were considered criminal offenses at the time. As part of his sentence, he went through chemical castration through the administration of estrogen hormone treatments. These events were deeply upsetting for Turing and affected his profession and individual life.
Tragically, Alan Turing passed away on June 7, 1954, from cyanide poisoning, which was ruled as suicide. He was 41 years of ages. Turing's death was a terrific loss to the scientific neighborhood, yet his tradition survives on. He is commonly acknowledged as one of the founding figures of computer science and artificial intelligence.
In subsequent years, Turing's contributions have actually been acknowledged and celebrated. In 2009, British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown issued a public apology for the way Turing was treated after World War II. In 2013,
Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous royal pardon. Today, Turing's work continues to influence the fields of mathematics, computer science, and codebreaking.
Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written / told by Alan.
Related authors: Elizabeth I (Royalty), Queen Elizabeth II (Royalty), Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosopher), Elizabeth II (Royalty), Alonzo Church (Mathematician), Gordon Brown (Politician), Keira Knightley (Actress), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)
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