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The Indiana Daily Student

Student petitions for apology from British government

It’s been more than 50 years since the death of pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, but the efforts of a British computer scientist and an IU graduate student have put the man who helped break the enigma code back in the public eye.

Turing, who worked as a code-breaker for the Allies during World War II and later made advances in artificial intelligence, was criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual in 1952, which was a crime in Britain at the time.

Now, computer scientist John Graham-Cumming is at the forefront of an effort to get an official apology from the British government. In his blog, Graham-Cumming posted a letter to the Queen of England asking for Turing to be awarded a posthumous knighthood. But it’s Graham-Cumming’s online petition that brought Turing’s story into the international limelight.

Last week, IU philosophy graduate student Cameron Buckner started an international petition for non-British citizens that now has more than 10,000 signatures from people on six continents.

“(Turing) has just never been adequately recognized,” Buckner said. “It’s indisputable that his work saved lives, and he was a foundational figure in computer science.”
Graham-Cumming’s petition, which can be signed only by British citizens, had almost 30,000 signatures as of press time, including the signatures of other scientists and celebrities.

“I am amazed by the response,” Graham-Cumming said. “I thought I might have a hard time getting 500 signatures. Now, I have nearly 30,000 and many big celebrities including Richard Dawkins backing me.”

Since Graham-Cumming’s petition was filed through the British Prime Minister’s Web site and has so many signatures, the British government will be required to provide a response.

After World War II, Turing worked on various subjects including artificial intelligence and an early chess program that was too advanced for any computer of the day.

But in 1952, police charged him with gross indecency after he admitted to having a homosexual relationship. This happened in an era where there was a great fear of homosexuals in England after two gay men, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess, were caught spying for the Soviet Union.

“A lot of people say, ‘Why Turing, why not everybody persecuted by these laws?’” Buckner said. “He’s a symbol of the costs these laws had.”

After being convicted of gross indecency, Turing was sentenced to chemical castration. He committed suicide two years later.

“It makes a point not just about homosexuality, but about persecuted minorities in times of national anxiety,” Buckner said.

As of press time there were more than 4,000 comments on Buckner’s petition, about half of which were from the U.S., he said.

Buckner said the “bare minimum” he’d like to see is an apology from the British government, though Graham-Cumming said he is “not confident” of getting one.
Buckner said he’d also like to see a prominent memorial honoring Turing among England’s other national heroes.

Turing has no direct descendents, but Graham-Cumming said on his blog he has heard from members of Turing’s family, and was “encouraged” that the family members had spoken out and supported his petition.

The petition is available at www.ipetitions.com/petition/worldturingpetition/index.html.

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