Turing becomes the first gay man to ever appear on a British note.
Codebreaker Alan Turing continues to make history more than 60 years after his death.
The man some have credited with ending World War two early will become the first gay man to ever feature on the £50 note.
Turing played a crucial role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial battles during world war two, some have estimated that through Turing’s work, up to 14 million lives were saved and the war ended two years earlier than it would have.
The codebreaker and computer scientist was honoured by King George VI at the end of the war with an OBE, yet he still died a criminal simply for being gay.
Turning was convicted of ‘indecency’ for having same sex relations in 1952, it is believed he took his own life in 1954, however there has been some dispute over the coroner’s official ruling.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised for Turing’s “utterly unfair” treatment in 2009, with the Queen granting the codebreaker a royal pardon in 2013.
Bank of England’s chief cashier says Turing’s contribution deserved to be honoured, particularly given the way he was treated in his later life.
“I’m delighted that Alan Turing features on our new £50 bank note. He was a brilliant scientist whose thinking still shapes our lives today,” Sarah John, Bank of England’s chief cashier said.
“However, his many contributions to society were still not enough to spare him the appalling treatment to which he was subjected simply because he was gay. By placing him on this new £50, we are celebrating his life and his achievements, of which we should all be very proud.”
