Fury Mounts Over Treatment of Gay WWII Codebreaker

A campaign to win a pardon and apology for gay World War II codebreaking genius Alan Turing is gathering steam, CNN reports. Turing—considered by many to be the father of modern computing—made a vital contribution to the Allied effort with his invention of a machine to crack German codes, but was prosecuted in his native Britain in 1952 for having a homosexual relationship. He agreed to undergo chemical castration to avoid prison time and committed suicide two years later.

A petition signed by tens of thousands of people calls for the British government to "recognize the tragic consequences of prejudice that ended this man's life and career." There is "no doubt in my mind hat if Turing had lived his international impact would have been great and he likely would have received a knighthood," said the computer scientist who launched the campaign.
(More Alan Turing stories.)