Alan Turing

This morning I was doing some research into Alan Turing and his Universal Turing Machine for the screenplay and performance I'm working on. Basically, he developed the computational concepts behind today's computers. While reading a short biography of him done for Time magazine, I was horrified to learn of the circumstances that led to his suicide in 1954.

From the Time magazine biography:
"Unfortunately, reality caught up with Turing well before his vision would, if ever, be realized. In Manchester, he told police investigating a robbery at his house that he was having "an affair" with a man who was probably known to the burglar. Always frank about his sexual orientation, Turing this time got himself into real trouble. Homosexual relations were still a felony in Britain, and Turing was tried and convicted of "gross indecency" in 1952. He was spared prison but subjected to injections of female hormones intended to dampen his lust. "I'm growing breasts!" Turing told a friend. On June 7, 1954, he committed suicide by eating an apple laced with cyanide. He was 41."

What's particularly disturbing is that this was basically a hate crime carried out by the government. It wasn't some angry, homophobic men or the Nazis, it was the British government - 49 years ago! For me it's another reminder of why it's important to remove from office people like George Bush - who, as the govenor here in Texas, defended upholding the state's sodomy law as "a symbol of traditional values" and threatened to veto any legislative attempt to overturn it.