Britain’s WWII code-breaking hero Alan Turing will be next face on £50 note, Bank of England reveals
- Alan Turing has been chosen by Bank of England as next face of the £50 note
- Public was asked to put forward scientific figures with 989 people proposed
- Governor Mark Carney made the final decision after advice from experts
- Turing was central to cracking German 'Enigma' code during World War II
Pioneering Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing will be the next person to feature on the £50 note, the Bank of England has confirmed today.
The mathematician, who cracked the German Enigma code and was known as the 'father of computer science' for his innovative methods, was revealed as the new face of the currency at a conference at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester this morning.
It comes after the Bank of England asked the public to nominate a person with a historic scientific contribution for the new note last year.
Governor Mark Carney revealed Turing was chosen from a list of 989 candidates put forward in more than 220,000 nominations.
The new polymer £50 note is expected to enter circulation by the end of 2021.
Turing was homosexual at a time when it was illegal and he was posthumously pardoned by the Queen after his death in 1954, having previously been convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with a man.
World War II codebreaker Alan Turing will be the new face on the £50 note, pictured
Mr Carney, left, confirmed today Turing, pictured right, was chosen from 989 eligible figures put forward in 227,299 nominations
The new design also features a table and mathematical formula created by Turing in the 1930s that is cited as the foundation of computer science. Pictured is Mr Carney with an image of the final design
The GCHQ, whom Turing worked for after the war until his conviction for a homosexual relationship, said it was delighted he had been picked for the £50 note
The note will also feature a quote from Turing, given in an interview to the Times newspaper on June 11, 1949: 'This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be.'
Turing was chosen following the Bank's character selection process which included advice from scientific experts.
In 2018, the Banknote Character Advisory Committee chose to celebrate the field of science on the £50 note, and members of the public were invited to put forward names over a six-week period.
A shortlist was then drawn up by the committee from the 989 people proposed, with the Governor making the final decision.
The Bank said the shortlist demonstrated the breadth of scientific achievement in the UK, from astronomy to physics, chemistry to palaeontology and mathematics to biochemistry.
And the news was welcomed by the British public, with many on social media claiming it was a step in the right direction in making up for the treatment he endured following his conviction.
The news of Turing being chosen for the £50 was welcomed on social media, with many saying it was deserved for the persecution he suffered over his sexuality
Others said the honour had come '70 years too late' alongside the posthumous pardon he received just a few years ago
One Twitter user wrote: 'Delighted to hear about Alan Turing being the new face for our £50 note. The wonderful hero that saved a nation despite knowing that his very nature was a deemed illegal within it. May it never happen again.'
Another wrote: 'Well done Alan Turing. 70 years too late mind...'
Meanwhile the GCHQ intelligence agency, whom Turing was sacked from following his conviction, also paid tribute to him following the honour.
In a tweet, the agency said: 'We’re delighted that Alan Turing has been chosen by the @bankofengland as the face of the new £50 note.
'Turing was the father of modern computing, a pioneer in #artificialintelligence and instrumental in the breaking of Enigma @bletchleypark during #WWII'.
The LGBT Foundation also tweeted that Turing being chosen meant 'Equality wins'
Those considered alongside Turing were Stephen Hawking, Mary Anning, Paul Dirac, Rosalind Franklin, William Herschel and Caroline Herschel, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, James Clerk Maxwell, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ernest Rutherford, and Frederick Sanger.
Mr Carney said: 'Alan Turing was an outstanding mathematician whose work has had an enormous impact on how we live today.
'As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as war hero, Alan Turing's contributions were far-ranging and path-breaking. Turing is a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand.'
Mr Carney said Turing, pictured, had an 'enormous impact on how we live today'
While Turing is perhaps best-known for his work devising code-breaking machines during the Second World War, which was portrayed in a film starring Benedict Cumberbatch, he played a pivotal role in the development of early computers first at the National Physical Laboratory and later at the University of Manchester.
He laid the foundations for work on artificial intelligence by considering the question of whether machines could think.
The new design will feature a photo of Turing taken in 1951, which is part of the Photographs Collection at the National Portrait Gallery.
There will also be a table and mathematical formulae from a 1936 paper by Turing which is widely recognised as being a foundation for computer science.
It sought to establish whether there could be a definitive method by which something could be assessed as provable or not using a universal machine.
The design will also feature technical drawings for the British Bombe - one of the main methods used to break Enigma-enciphered messages during the Second World War.
The Enigma enciphering machine was believed to be unbreakable as the cipher changed continuously.
Turing was able to crack the code of the German Enigma machine, pictured, which enabled the British to learn of enemy plans and where submarine attacks were likely to take place
Turing's life was immortalised on screen in 2014's The Imitation Game in which Benedict Cumberbatch, right, starred as the mathematician alongside Keira Knightley, left
But Turing was able to build a computer capable of cracking the code, with the first wartime Enigma messages broken in January 1940.
Enigma traffic continued to be broken routinely at Bletchley Park for the remainder of the war.
Turing's signature from the visitors' book at Bletchley Park in 1947, where he worked during the war, will also be included, alongside ticker tape depicting Turing's birth date - June 23 1912 - in binary code.
The concept of a machine fed by binary tape featured in Turing's 1936 paper.
The current £50 note, which was first issued in 2011, features leading lights of the Industrial Revolution Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
Bank of England Chief Cashier Sarah John said: 'The strength of the shortlist is testament to the UK's incredible scientific contribution.
'The breadth of individuals and achievements reflects the huge range of nominations we received for this note and I would to thank the public for all their suggestions of scientists we could celebrate.'
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