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Posted on Advocate.com September 10, 2009 05:15:00 PM ET

British PM Apologizes to Turing

ALAN TURING 02 X390 (FAIR USE) | ADVOCATE.COM

Fifty-seven years after the British government compelled him to undergo a chemical castration, the late gay code-breaker Alan Turing has been granted an apology by U.K. prime minister Gordon Brown.

Turing, a mathematical genius, helped turn the tide of World War II by deciphering German Enigma codes. But after Turing was convicted by a British court of "gross indecency" for having a homosexual relationship, he was forced to choose between prison and chemical castration. He chose the latter, and ended his own life two years later, in 1954.

In a piece in Thursday's Telegraph newspaper, Brown wrote, "Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair, and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted, as he was convicted, under homophobic laws, were treated terribly. Over the years, millions more lived in fear [of] conviction. I am proud that those days are gone and that in the past 12 years this Government has done so much to make life fairer and more equal for our LGBT community. This recognition of Alan's status as one of Britain's most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality, and long overdue."

Brown's apology comes after more than 30,000 people signed a petition on the prime minister's website urging the government to "recognize the tragic consequences of prejudice that ended this man's life and career."

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News Will U.K. Say Sorry to Gay Code-Breaker? September 01, 2009 By Neal Broverman
Alan Turing was a mathematical genius whose work breaking German codes for the British during World War II contributed to the eventual Allied victory. But Turing was never knighted by the queen; instead he was subjected to a chemical castration when he was found guilty of "gross indecency" for having a gay relationship. He killed himself in 1954 at age 41, two years after that procedure.

Reader Comments

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Name: Phil
Date posted: 9/13/2009 10:54:20 PM
Hometown: South Kensington, London

Comment:
I'm just as angry at what happened to Turing, but why should Brown apologise? I'm not a fan of his, but it's the not the current government's fault at what happened that long ago.
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Name: Paul
Date posted: 9/12/2009 12:07:54 PM
Hometown: Minneapolis

Comment:
A few years ago at a "marriage rally" here in Minneapolis, some people carried signs reading "Death Penalty for Homosexuals." How ironic that had their wish been carried out against Turing before he had cracked the Enigma code, they could very well be living in a very different world today.
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Name: Dennis
Date posted: 9/11/2009 4:50:13 PM
Hometown: Minneapolis

Comment:
What a wonderful and powerful statement from the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. (I found it at the 10 Downing Street website.) As a mathematician who has written about the Turing Memorial Statue in Sackville Park in Manchester, UK, (check out google.com) I feel elated today. Today is Sept 11. A day of rembrance in USA. Turing died June 7, 1954 -- one day after the 10th anniversary of D-Day (whose very success depended critically on Turing's code-breaking).
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Name: Ginelle
Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:59:44 PM
Hometown: British Columbia, Canada

Comment:
So many of the most brilliant minds and exceptional talents throughout time have been Gay men and women. Too often, too late, due to intollerance, ignorance, hatred and basic stupidity, we come to realize what a precious jewel we had in our midst. The likes and possible potential of people like Alan Turing, Oscar Wilde, Montgomery Clift will never walk amongst us again.
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Name: Donnie
Date posted: 9/11/2009 1:49:16 PM
Hometown: LA

Comment:
pity our government doesn't agree with Brown's
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Name: tbaxfer
Date posted: 9/11/2009 2:48:11 AM
Hometown: Illinois

Comment:
A truly brilliant man I must say. I'm happy to see that he has finally gotten at least some form of justice, however little it may be to undue the horrific oppression that he had to endure.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Toni Massari
Date posted: 9/11/2009 2:20:34 AM
Hometown: Bristol, UK

Comment:
As on of the 30,850 signatories and a lesbian, I am glad that I immigrated here to the UK and proud of all of us who achieved this. The historical event not only recognises the wrong done to Alan Turing as War Hero, but his worth as a brilliant mathematician, father of computing and early proponent of Artificial Intelligence, ahead of his time. It is with huge sadness and solidarity across the water, that we in the United Kingdom, rich beyond our wildest dreams with the freedom to form civil partnerships and able to obtain such public recognition by our Premier of the injustice to an illustrious gay man, read on your excellent website, only yesterday, that a US lesbian is forced choose desertion and seek asylum in Canada, because of bullying and harassment by her colleagues and the shameful inaction of her superior officers. "An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere" Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Toni Massari
Date posted: 9/11/2009 2:19:54 AM
Hometown: Bristol, UK

Comment:
As on of the 30,850 signatories and a lesbian, I am glad that I immigrated here to the UK and proud of all of us who achieved this. The historical event not only recognises the wrong done to Alan Turing as War Hero, but his worth as a brilliant mathematician, father of computing and early proponent of Artificial Intelligence, ahead of his time. It is with huge sadness and solidarity across the water, that we in the United Kingdom, rich beyond our wildest dreams with the freedom to form civil partnerships and able to obtain such public recognition by our Premier of the injustice to an illustrious gay man, read on your excellent website, only yesterday, that a US lesbian is forced choose desertion and seek asylum in Canada, because of bullying and harassment by her colleagues and the shameful inaction of her superior officers. "An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere" Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Toni Massari
Date posted: 9/11/2009 2:18:17 AM
Hometown: Bristol, UK

Comment:
As on of the 30,850 signatories and a lesbian, I am glad that I immigrated here to the UK and proud of all of us who achieved this. The historical event not only recognises the wrong done to Alan Turing as War Hero, but his worth as a brilliant mathematician, father of computing and early proponent of Artificial Intelligence, ahead of his time. It is with huge sadness and solidarity across the water, that we in the United Kingdom, rich beyond our wildest dreams with the freedom to form civil partnerships and able to obtain such public recognition by our Premier of the injustice to an illustrious gay man, read on your excellent website, only yesterday, that a US lesbian is forced choose desertion and seek asylum in Canada, because of bullying and harassment by her colleagues and the shameful inaction of her superior officers. "An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere" Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Frank E.
Date posted: 9/10/2009 11:34:14 PM
Hometown: Austin

Comment:
As a gay programmer myself, I take especial satisfaction at this!

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