New British note to honor Turing
LONDON >> Alan Turing, the computing pioneer who became one of the most influential code breakers of World War II, has been chosen by the Bank of England to be the new face of its 50-pound note.
The decision to put Turing on the highest-denomination English bank note, worth about $62, adds to growing public recognition of his achievements. His reputation during his lifetime was overshadowed by a conviction under Britain’s Victorian laws against homosexuality, and his war work remained a secret until decades later.
“Alan Turing was an outstanding mathematician whose work has had an enormous impact on how we live today,” Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said in a statement. “As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as a war hero, Alan Turing’s contributions were far-ranging and path breaking.
“Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand,” Carney added.
The central bank announced last year that it wanted to honor someone in the field of science on the next version of the bill, which was last redesigned in 2011, and Turing was chosen from a list of 227,299 nominees that included Charles Babbage, Stephen Hawking, Ada Lovelace and Margaret Thatcher (who worked as a chemical researcher before entering politics).
“The strength of the shortlist is testament to the U.K.’s incredible scientific contribution,” Sarah John, the Bank of England’s chief cashier, said in a statement.
The bank plans to put the new note into circulation by the end of 2021.