British Government Apologizes to Alan Turing

September 19, 2009

After many years, an online petition containing more than 30,000 signatures has spurred the British government to issue a historical statement: an official apology to the famous gay mathematician and codebreaker Alan M. Turing.

In 1952, Turing was convicted of "gross indecency." His sentence was a choice between chemical castration (injections of female hormones) or prison. Turing took his life in 1954.

Brown said, "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. . . . On behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work, I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better."

Computer scientist John Graham-Cumming, who initiated the petition, suggests that the government could add substance to its sentiments by restoring Bletchley Park, where Turing and colleagues labored during World War II to crack the German codes.

Source: BBC News, Sept. 11, 2009; Telegraph, Sept. 10, 2009.