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Despite the monumental intellectual feats of Newton and Watson & Crick, it can be reasonably argued that Alan Turing (1912-1954), who was also a product of Cambridge, has had the greatest and most widespread impact upon the world in terms of how his research has figured into our daily lives.
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In 1934, Turing took a degree with honors in mathematics from Cambridge. Shortly thereafter, he delivered a highly sophisticated paper (even by the standards of top mathematicians) containing a mathematical theory of computation. Turning theory into practice, he then developed a machine able to make calculations through algorithms - which was appropriately called "The Turing Machine."
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Hence, the modern computer age was born.
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After Europe went to war in 1939, Turing was put to work by the British government at Bletchley Park (about 50 miles from London) to assist in the decryption of Nazi signal codes. Upon the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, Turing, who had both laid the groundwork for a new era of communication and had honorably lent his fecund mind to the cause of freedom, should have received nothing but endless plaudits from his peers for making significant contributions to the welfare of international community. Sadly however, his life disintegrated within a decade, and Turing's final years were spent in a state of soul-crushing grief.
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In a set of unlikely circumstances, Turing admitted to having a homosexual affair to police in an investigation of an attempted burglary of his home. That was a profound mistake. In 1952, engaging in a homosexual act was a criminal offense. As such, Turing was prosecuted, convicted and offered two choices by the court - either to spend time in prison or to be effectively castrated by means of hormone injections. Turing chose the latter. In the meantime, he lost his position working for the government due to being socially stigmatized.
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Between the psychologically damaging effects of his medical treatment and sudden descent into pariah status, Turing became despondent and ingested cyanide on 8 June 1954. The official cause of death was listed as suicide. Yet, was he not actually murdered by the ignorance and intolerance of his society?
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Three years ago, the British government apologized for its role in Turing's legal downfall. That, however, did not change the fact that Turing was mercilessly persecuted for his sexual orientation and died needlessly at age forty-one.
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Equal Sexuality, Equal Rights
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In nearly every society, the majority tends to culturally coerce minorities into adopting its ethos and mores through false and often bigoted dichotomies. For people who refuse to subscribe to the dominant religion, they are often cast as "ungodly." For those who dare question the economic system or the function of the state, they are usually depicted as "troublemakers" or "radicals". As for gays and other non-heterosexuals, they have been subject to harassment and forced to conceal their sexual identity - in a similar fashion to how some light-skinned blacks in the United States and elsewhere hid their heritage to "pass" as whites - prior to the civil rights era.
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What is crueler than forcing someone to hide their true nature and true personality?
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As a species, the human race has always been diverse in physical appearance and sexuality. Hence, heterosexuality is not a "gold standard." It is just one form of sexuality among many others. As such, it is patently unjust to deny anyone equal rights on the basis of their sexual orientation - including the right for same-sex couples to marry.
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Unfortunately, it is too late for Alan Turing. It is not, however, too late to accord justice to homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals and other non-heterosexuals - who have suffered for far too long.
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(Photo: Alan Turing, the Father of Computer Science.)
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Key Source
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Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (New York: Vintage, 1994)
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To locate the day and time of worldwide Gay Pride events in 2012-13, please click onto the following link: http://www.nighttours.com/gaypride/
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To read about Turing's contribution as a founder of the computer age at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park (UK), please click onto the following link: http://www.tnmoc.org/timeline.aspx
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J Roquen