Alan Turing's code breaking brilliance helped the Allies defeat the Nazis and his mathematical theories laid the foundation for the computer age. But Turing was gay, and 1950s Britain spied on him, punished him with a criminal conviction and subjected him to hormone treatments. He died at his own hand in 1954. 

 

Now, nearly fifty years after the war hero’s suicide, Queen Elizabeth has  granted Turing a pardon.

 

“Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind,” Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. Describing Turing’s treatment as unjust, Grayling said the code breaker “deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science.”

On this special day let us give thanks that over the last generations the lot of  gay men and lesbians in Western countries has evolved from repression and hatred to equality and respect. 

Merry Christmas. 

Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing receives royal pardon. [The Guardian]