Alan Turing
Who was Alan Turing? Alan Turing was an English mathematician and pioneer of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. During WW2, he was instrumental in breaking the German Enigma code, leading to Allied victory over Nazi Germany. What happened in Alan Turing’s early years? Alan Turing was born on 23 June 1912 in Maida Vale, London. His intelligence was clear from his school days. At the age of 9, his headmistress from St Michael's Primary School in Hastings reported: ‘I have had clever boys and hard-working boys, but Alan is a genius’. Turing moved to Hazelhurst Preparatory School in 1922 where he became interested in chess, spending hours working out complex chess problems on his own. At the age of 13, he attended Sherborne School in Dorset. Although his maths teacher Mr Randolph declared him a ‘genius’, this counted little in a school that placed its emphasis on humanities and classics. Teachers would often get annoyed with him for his high marks i...