Turing

Most of us in the computer science field know the name "Turing", referring to famous mathematician Alan Turing. He was the man mainly responsible for famously cracking the enemy encryption codes during WW II, something many believe was a key to the outcome of the war.

Sadly, despite the huge contributions he made to the world (he also created many math and computer science theories still in use today, including the famous "Turing Machine"), a few years later in 1952 he was convicted of "gross indecency" - basically homosexuality, illegal at that time - and had the choice of going to prison or going through a procedure called chemical castration, which was injecting female hormones into your blood stream. To avoid jail he chose the second option, and 2 years later committed suicide at the age of 41.

This morning I read that the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Gordon Brown, at the urging of several in the computer science and gay communities, gave an apology and special recognition to Turing's accomplishments. I thought this was a really great gesture for him to make.

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/12920/the-man-the-apple-logo-salutes-to-alan-turing-gets-apology-from-british-prime-minister