Bank of England has revealed a £50 banknote honoring the English hero, whose accomplishments were never honored in his lifetime; in fact, he was convicted of violating antigay Victorian laws and punished with chemical castration.
In a statement that seems to aim to undo this shameful legacy, Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, called Turing “one of Britain’s most important scientists""Turing is best known for his codebreaking work at Bletchley Park, which helped end the Second World War," Bailey said. "However in addition he was a leading mathematician, developmental biologist, and a pioneer in the field of computer science.