Alan Turing
- Born:
- 23 June 1912, Maida Vale, London, England
- Died:
- 7 June 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England
- Nationality:
- British
- Profession(s):
- Computer Scientist, Mathematician, Logician, Cryptanalyst, Theoretical Biologist
Early Life and Education
- Demonstrated precocious abilities in mathematics and science from a young age.
- Educated at Sherborne School.
- Studied at King's College, Cambridge from 1931 to 1934, graduating with a degree in mathematics.
- Elected a Fellow of King's College in 1935.
- Earned a PhD from Princeton University in 1938.
Career and Major Achievements
- Key role in breaking German ciphers during World War II at Bletchley Park.
- Designed the Bombe, an electromechanical device used to decipher Enigma-encrypted messages.
- Pioneered the concept of the Turing machine, a theoretical model of computation.
- Developed the Turing test, a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.
- Worked at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) after the war, designing the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), one of the first designs for a stored-program computer.
- Joined the Computing Machine Laboratory at the University of Manchester in 1948.
Notable Works
- "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" (1936): Introduced the Turing machine.
- "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950): Proposed the Turing test.
Legacy and Impact
Alan Turing is widely considered the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. His work on codebreaking significantly shortened World War II. Although he was not a literal 'bio template maker' in the modern sense, his concepts and ideas form the very foundation upon which automated information processing and presentation, including systems that function as a 'bio template maker', rest. His influence on the development of computers and the understanding of computation is profound and enduring.
Awards and Recognition
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| Order of the British Empire (OBE) | 1946 |
| Posthumous Royal Pardon | 2013 |
| The Turing Award, named in his honor, is the highest distinction in computer science. | N/A |