Alan Turing's Milestones

Alan Turing was a British mathematician who broke the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, laying the groundwork for modern computer science, but was later persecuted for his sexuality.
1912

Birth

Alan Turing was born in Maida Vale, London, to Julius Mathison Turing and Ethel Sara Stoney.

Family June 23, 1912

Family moved to India

Turing's father worked in the Indian Civil Service; Alan and his brother stayed in England.

Location October 1, 1912 - December 1, 1915
1922

Early education

Attended Hazelhurst Preparatory School, showing early aptitude for science and mathematics.

Education January 1, 1922 - April 1, 1926
1926

Attended Sherborne School

Attended Sherborne School, Dorset, showing early signs of mathematical genius and interest in chemistry.

Education May 1, 1926 - July 1, 1931
1930

Death of friend Christopher Morcom

The death of his close friend Christopher Morcom deeply affected Turing and inspired his scientific pursuits.

Other February 13, 1930
1931

King's College, Cambridge

Studied mathematics at King's College, University of Cambridge, graduating with first-class honors.

Education October 1, 1931 - June 1, 1934
1935

Fellowship at King's College

Elected a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, for research in probability theory.

Achievement June 1, 1935
1936

Princeton University

Studied for a PhD in mathematics at Princeton University under Alonzo Church, working on logic, algebra, and cryptography.

Education September 1, 1936 - June 1, 1938

Published 'On Computable Numbers'

Published 'On Computable Numbers,' introducing the concept of the Turing machine, foundational to computer science.

Achievement November 12, 1936
1938

Returned to Cambridge

Returned to Cambridge and attended lectures by Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Other July 1, 1938 - August 31, 1939
1939

Bletchley Park and Enigma

Worked at Bletchley Park, leading Hut 8 in breaking the German Enigma code during World War II.

Achievement September 4, 1939 - June 1, 1945
1940

Developed Bombe machine

Designed the electromechanical Bombe machine, which helped decipher Enigma-encrypted messages.

Achievement January 1, 1940 - January 1, 1941
1941

Developed Banburismus

Developed the Banburismus statistical technique to optimize Enigma codebreaking.

Achievement January 1, 1941 - January 1, 1943
1942

Worked on Lorenz cipher (Tunny)

Contributed to the breaking of the Lorenz cipher, used for high-level Nazi communications.

Achievement January 1, 1942 - May 1, 1945
1945

Awarded OBE

Awarded the Order of the British Empire for wartime services.

Achievement January 1, 1945

ACE project

Worked on the design of the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) at the National Physical Laboratory, one of the earliest designs for a stored-program computer.

Career October 1, 1945 - October 1, 1948
1948

Manchester Mark I and AI

Worked at the University of Manchester on the Mark I computer and on early artificial intelligence concepts, including the Turing Test.

Career October 1, 1948 - June 7, 1954
1950

Turing Test published

Published 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence,' proposing the Turing Test for machine intelligence.

Achievement October 1, 1950
1952

Conviction and chemical castration

Convicted of gross indecency due to his homosexuality and subjected to chemical castration.

Other March 31, 1952
1954

Death

Alan Turing died by cyanide poisoning in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in what was ruled a suicide.

Other June 7, 1954
1966

Posthumous recognition

Recognized as the father of computer science; posthumously pardoned in 2013, with the Turing Law extending pardons to others.

Achievement January 1, 1966 - June 5, 2025