GAY NEWS
British Government Apologizes for Persecution of Gay WWII Code-Cracker
By L. K. Regan
Published Sep 15, 2009
Published Sep 15, 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an apology on Friday for the homophobic persecution of World War II-era mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing. Describing the way Turing was treated as "appalling," Brown gave definitive affirmation to a lengthy campaign aimed at restoring the reputation of a famous victim of homophobia.
Alan Turing, born in 1912, is best known for helping to create a machine to crack messages written in code by the Germans' Enigma machines in World War II. The ability to break the Germans' code was a key factor in the Allies' eventual victory. Turing also helped to provide key concepts that fueled the development of the computer, and designed a test, called the Turing Test, that can assess a machine's intelligence. In short, he was a prominent figure in mid-century mathematics, and a British patriot.
But Turing was also gay. In 1952, he had a couple of assignations with a man named Arnold Murray, who helped stage a break-in at Turing's house. Turing went to the police about the robbery, in the process admitting the nature of his connection to Murray. He was, along with Murray, charged with "gross indecency," a crime at the time. Given the choice between prison and probation, Turing chose the latter—but the deal came with a condition, that he accept hormone "therapy" designed to suppress his sex-drive. After a year of estrogen injections, Turing had developed breasts and lost his reputation. In 1954 he was dead by cyanide poisoning, a presumed suicide.
In August of this year, a well-known English computer programmer, John Graham-Cumming, began a petition demanding that the British government apologize to Turing. It quickly gained thousands of signatures, leading Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday to issue a formal apology. In his statement, released on the Prime Minister's Number10 website, Brown put Turing's ill-treatment in the context of the code-breaker's contribution to the fight against fascism, or as Brown calls it, "the darkness of dictatorship." As the statement says, "It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different.... It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe’s history and not Europe’s present."
Calling the treatment of Turing "appalling," Brown's statment concludes with an unmistakeable apology for the past: "So 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." Of course, one cannot help but think of U.S policy, which excludes gays from military service. While the U.S. diplomatic corp has no prohibition on gay service members,"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still the rule of the U.S. miitary. Surely the legacy of Alan Turing stands as a lesson against this policy.
Alan Turing, born in 1912, is best known for helping to create a machine to crack messages written in code by the Germans' Enigma machines in World War II. The ability to break the Germans' code was a key factor in the Allies' eventual victory. Turing also helped to provide key concepts that fueled the development of the computer, and designed a test, called the Turing Test, that can assess a machine's intelligence. In short, he was a prominent figure in mid-century mathematics, and a British patriot.
But Turing was also gay. In 1952, he had a couple of assignations with a man named Arnold Murray, who helped stage a break-in at Turing's house. Turing went to the police about the robbery, in the process admitting the nature of his connection to Murray. He was, along with Murray, charged with "gross indecency," a crime at the time. Given the choice between prison and probation, Turing chose the latter—but the deal came with a condition, that he accept hormone "therapy" designed to suppress his sex-drive. After a year of estrogen injections, Turing had developed breasts and lost his reputation. In 1954 he was dead by cyanide poisoning, a presumed suicide.
In August of this year, a well-known English computer programmer, John Graham-Cumming, began a petition demanding that the British government apologize to Turing. It quickly gained thousands of signatures, leading Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday to issue a formal apology. In his statement, released on the Prime Minister's Number10 website, Brown put Turing's ill-treatment in the context of the code-breaker's contribution to the fight against fascism, or as Brown calls it, "the darkness of dictatorship." As the statement says, "It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different.... It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe’s history and not Europe’s present."
Calling the treatment of Turing "appalling," Brown's statment concludes with an unmistakeable apology for the past: "So 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." Of course, one cannot help but think of U.S policy, which excludes gays from military service. While the U.S. diplomatic corp has no prohibition on gay service members,"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is still the rule of the U.S. miitary. Surely the legacy of Alan Turing stands as a lesson against this policy.
Ben_Patrick_Johnson wrote:
It's remarkable to me how short-sighted many in our various military establishments are.
One would think pragmatism would win out over bigotry on a case by case basis. But obviously not, at least not in this past century. I remember a great documentary about the establishment of WACs here in the US, how many of the women soldiers were unabashedly lesbian, and how General Dwight D. Eisenhower (!) was the one who put the kebosh on a witch hunt of sorts that was going on. HE figured out what other admirable military minds like Barry Goldwater would eventually come to realize:
"You don't need to BE straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to SHOOT straight."
Sep 24 1:22 AM
tokugawa wrote:
A German scientist approached the Nazi military with a proposal to build a computer in 1941. He was asked how long it would take to construct such a device. When he said two years, the Nazi military turned down his request, saying that they will have won the war by that time.
Sep 21 9:33 AM
Tiny22Smiles wrote:
It's a sad thing to have happened, but I'm glad Brown apologized and that he called America out. Good for him.
Sep 18 2:52 PM
runningstud wrote:
It's long overdue. Turning's achievements gave the Allies a decisive edge in the long struggle to overcome Nazi Germany
Sep 16 5:09 PM
CanadianSun wrote:
i remember studying an entire book on him and his theories, good man.
Sep 16 1:47 PM
srqhottie wrote:
This was far too little, too late, for a man who probably was one of the greatest contributors to the allied victory in Europe. A shocking story.
Sep 16 1:18 PM
fini wrote:
Thank you for writing/posting this story.
Sep 16 10:03 AM
TigerTim wrote:
For anyone who'd like to know more, the Biography by Andrew Hodges "Alan Turing: The Enigma" is a must read!
Sep 16 5:11 AM
ActiveAndFit wrote:
Its great they do this, but I am sure there are many gay "heroes" and great contributors to mankind that the world will never know about. Until there is more about the history of gay people and their persecution, people will just not know or care. Did they ever apologize about Oscar Wilde by the way?
Sep 16 5:06 AM
sxydrkhair wrote:
Thank you for this article. :-)
Sep 16 4:41 AM