Alan Turing, considered the founder of computer science and crucial decoder of German spies during World War II, would have been celebrating his 101st birthday this month had he been alive.
In commemoration of Turing’s achievements Manchester City Council, supported by Barclays, will present the annual Homo Hero Awards aimed at people, organisations or businesses that have made a significant contribution in the fight against homophobia, in Manchester.
The Homo Heroes Awards are coming into their third year and previous winners have included Sir Ian McKellen, The Co-Operative’s Respect Network and Greater Manchester Police.
Sir Ian McKellen, who won LGBT Role Model of the Year in 2011, said: “I couldn’t have been more delighted, particularly as I admire the other winners so much.”
Turing played a crucial role in World War II when working at Bletchley Park to help break the German spy code and helped design one of the world’s first computers during his time at the University of Manchester.
In 1952, when homosexual acts were illegal in the UK, Turing was prosecuted for loving another man, and to avoid a prison sentence was chemically castrated.
Turing died in 1954, a few weeks before his 42nd birthday from cyanide poisoning, although a coroner at the time concluded the death as suicide.
In 2009 the British government apologised for its actions, Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared: “It is no exaggeration to say that, without Alan Turing’s outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different.
“Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. For those of us born after 1945, into a Europe which is united, democratic, and at peace, it is hard to imagine that our continent was once the theatre of mankind’s darkest hour.”
Nominations can be made at www.lgf.org.uk/hero
Picture courtesy of Wiki Commons, with thanks.
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