LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England unveils new banknote celebrating mathematician Alan Turing, who helped Britain win World War II with his code-breaking skills, but is believed to have committed suicide after being convicted of that she had sex with a man partner.
The new 50-pound ($ 69) banknote features a picture of Turing, mathematical formulas from a paper he wrote in 1936, which laid the groundwork for modern computer science and technical drawings for the machines used to decipher the code. Enigma.
The polymer note also carries a quote from Turing about increasing the intelligence of machines: “This is just a prediction of what is to come and just a shadow of what will be.”
Turing relied on the work of Polish mathematicians who had figured out how to read Germany’s Enigma code, finding a way to break the code’s increased security by the Nazis.
This story was told in the 2014 film The Imitation Game in which Turing was played by actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Turing’s work led to the decryption of German naval communications that helped Allied convoys move away from U-boats and were essential in the Battle of the Atlantic.
He also developed a technique that led to the breaking of the more sophisticated German Lorenz cypress.
Turing was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex with a man and undergoing chemical castration with injections of female hormones to avoid prison. He lost his security clearance to work with the British spy agency GCHQ.
Homosexual sex was illegal in Britain until 1967.
Turing used cyanide to commit suicide in 1954, aged 41, according to an investigation at the time. Queen Elizabeth received a royal pardon in 2013 for the criminal conviction that preceded her death.
“There is something about a nation’s character in its money,” BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said Thursday in a statement highlighting the extent of Turing’s achievements.
“He was also gay, and as a result, he was treated terribly,” Bailey said. “By placing our new £ 50 banknote, we are celebrating its achievements and the values it symbolizes.”
GCHQ chief Jeremy Fleming said Turing’s image on the ticket was an important moment.
“Turing was hugged for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay. His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also of the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive, ”said Fleming.
The BoE said it would throw the rainbow flag in the main building on London’s Threadneedle Street on Thursday.
The £ 50 bill is the BoE’s largest banknote. It will go into circulation on June 23, Turing’s birthday.
($ 1 = £ 0.7290)
Written by William Schomberg; Edited by Alexandra Hudson