Mathematician who helped the Allies win World War II was convicted for having gay sex was only finally pardoned in December 2013
A £42 million research institute is to be set up in the name of Alan Turing, the gay genius who helped the Allies win World War 2. A research fund honoring Alan Turing, the gay World War 2 code-breaker genius, was announced in the UK budget today (19 March).
Universities are being asked to bid to host the new research institute to develop applications for the vast amounts of data now routinely collected and stored.
The new Turing Institute, expected to cost around £42 million ($70m, €50m), will be launched with five years of government support to ensure the UK leads the way in big data and algorithm research.
‘The intention is for the work to benefit British companies to have an advantage in big data,’ a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said.
Treasury sources believe the applications for the smarter use of personal data could help hospitals track down the sources of infection and more efficiently stock drugs.
John Leech, a Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, has already called for the institute to be in his constituency.
He said: ‘Alan Turing’s contribution to Manchester was enormous as well as his efforts in bringing the war to an early conclusion. He is a national hero.
‘I am delighted that the Government have pledged support to create a fitting legacy for Alan Turing to ensure generations remember him for years to come.
‘Given his huge contribution to Manchester, it is only right that the new institute will be here.’
Turing helped crack the Enigma code, helping the Allies understand German communications and ultimately win the war.
But in 1952 he was convicted for ‘gross indecency’ with another man by a British court. Instead of prison, he accepted chemical castration.
This led to Turing committing suicide in 1954.
Despite years of campaigning, he was only given an official pardon by the UK government in December 2013.
by Joe Morgan
Source – Gay Star News
