Alan Turing was a British mathematician and logician widely regarded as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. In 1936, he introduced the concept of the “Turing machine,” a theoretical model that laid the foundations for how modern computers work. During World War II, he played a crucial role at Bletchley Park by helping break the German Enigma code, work that is credited with shortening the war and saving many lives. Despite his major contributions, Turing was prosecuted in 1952 under UK laws that criminalized homosexuality at the time. He died in 1954, and was granted a posthumous royal pardon in 2013.
