Alan Turing was born on 23 June 1912 in Maida Vale. An English mathematician and computer scientist, Turing laid the theoretical foundations of computing with his 1936 paper describing an abstract device, now called the Turing machine. During the Second World War he worked at Bletchley Park and played a leading part in breaking the German Enigma cipher, which helped the Allied war effort. Afterwards he designed an early stored-program computer and, in 1950, proposed the Turing test as a way to consider whether machines can think. In 1952 he was convicted of homosexual acts, then criminal in Britain, and died two years later; he received a royal pardon in 2013.
Before and after
- 15 April 1912Birth of Kim Il-sung
- 30 April 1912Founding of Universal Pictures
- 8 May 1912Founding of Paramount Pictures
- 6 June 1912Eruption of Novarupta
- 23 June 1912Birth of Alan Turing
- 17 July 1912Founding of World Athletics
- from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926Taishō era
- 31 July 1912Birth of Milton Friedman
- 7 August 1912Victor Hess discovers cosmic rays
More in Science & technology
- 1766Discovery of hydrogen
- 1772Discovery of barium
- 18 August 1868Discovery of helium
- 1875Discovery of gallium
- 1898Discovery of radium
- 1898Discovery of krypton
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.