Alan Turing petition garners support from thousands

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An online petition calling for Alan Turing, the man who championed the code breaking efforts during World War II, to be give a posthumous apology from the government has received an overwhelming level of support.

At the time of publication, more than 17,000 people had added their names to the petition, which is demanding that the government apologise for the way Turing was treated after a conviction for gross indecency in 1952 – something many believe ultimately caused his death two years later.

John Graham-Cumming, programmer and author of the Geek Atlas, the man behind the petition has also written to Her Majesty the Queen to request that Turing be honoured with a posthumous knighthood too.

“…Alan Turing’s life ended in tragedy when after being prosecuted for ‘gross indecency’ (Alan Turing was a homosexual) he was forced to have estrogen injections and committed suicide. On that day in 1954, at age 41, Great Britain lost one of its greatest minds,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which he posted on his blog.

“Since then Great Britain has done little to honour him. A section of road in Manchester is named after him, and a blue plaque is fixed to the wall of his former home.”

The letter continues: “I write today to Your Majesty to ask that Alan Turing be honoured with a posthumous knighthood that recognises what a great man he was; there is no doubt in my mind that if Turing had lived past age 41 his international impact would have been great and that he likely would have received a knighthood while alive.”

Labour MP Tom Watson is one of the many high-profile names backing the campaign. “Hard to do posthumous stuff in law but Alan Turing does need some kind of state recognition,” he said earlier today on Twitter.

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