On June 23, 2022, 110 years ago, Alan Turing was born, a British mathematician who in his short life (he committed suicide at the age of 41) achieved unique achievements and laid some of the most significant foundations in computer science.
Facts you knew and some you may have known less. Additional details and a picture from “Wikipedia”.
— He is considered the father of artificial intelligence, at least on the theoretical side – with the Turing test that tests whether a machine can have artificial intelligence that would not enable us to distinguish it from a human.
— He invented the Turing machine – a mathematical model of computation describing an abstract machine (a computer). Despite the model’s simplicity, it is capable of implementing any computer algorithm
— was one of the main partners in cracking “Enigma”, the encryption method used by the German army in World War II.
— Used computer simulations to study animals development.
— Created a computer program (software) to play chess against a human opponent.
— The Turing Award – the most important award in computer science has been awarded since 1966 by the ACM Society for Computing Machinery (USA).
— Rumors say that Apple’s bitten apple logo originates from the police version of Turing’s suicide which claimed that a bitten apple dipped in cyanide was found at the scene.
— Convicted of homosexual relations in 1952 and underwent hormonal treatment (“conversion treatments”). As a result, apparently, he ended his life.
— In 2013 he was pardoned by the Queen of Great Britain
— In 2020, Microsoft Israel inaugurated its new campus on Turing Street, in Herzliya Pituach.
