Alan Turing
Father of computing | 1912 – 1954
“If a machine behaves as intelligently as a human being, then it is as intelligent as a human.”
In 1936, at just 24 years old, Turing published a paper defining what "computing" means before a single computer existed: the Turing machine, a theoretical model capable of executing any imaginable algorithm. That abstract idea is, quite literally, the foundation upon which all modern computing is built.
At Bletchley Park, he led the team that designed the Bombe, an electromechanical machine capable of deciphering messages encrypted by Enigma, the system used by the German navy. Historians estimate that breaking Enigma shortened the war in Europe by several years and saved a very high number of lives. It was, in practice, the first major triumph of computing applied to a real and urgent problem.
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency—homosexuality was a crime in the UK at the time—and sentenced to chemical castration as an alternative to prison. He lost his security clearance and was barred from the work that had given his life meaning. In June 1954, he was found dead in his home; a bitten apple lay beside him. The official inquest concluded that he had committed suicide by cyanide poisoning, although some historians have pointed out that the evidence is not entirely conclusive. The UK did not issue a formal apology until 2009, and Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned him in 2013.
The idea that Apple's logo—a bitten apple—is a tribute to Turing has circulated for decades. It's a much-repeated story, but both the logo's designer, Rob Janoff, and Apple have explicitly denied it: they maintain that the "bite" was only added so that, at a small size, the silhouette wouldn't be mistaken for a cherry. The coincidence remains unproven, but the story has never stopped being told.
Alan Turing
Father of computing | 1912 – 1954
“If a machine behaves as intelligently as a human being, then it is as intelligent as a human.”
In 1936, at just 24 years old, Turing published a paper defining what "computing" means before a single computer existed: the Turing machine, a theoretical model capable of executing any imaginable algorithm. That abstract idea is, quite literally, the foundation upon which all modern computing is built.
At Bletchley Park, he led the team that designed the Bombe, an electromechanical machine capable of deciphering messages encrypted by Enigma, the system used by the German navy. Historians estimate that breaking Enigma shortened the war in Europe by several years and saved a very high number of lives. It was, in practice, the first major triumph of computing applied to a real and urgent problem.
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency—homosexuality was a crime in the UK at the time—and sentenced to chemical castration as an alternative to prison. He lost his security clearance and was barred from the work that had given his life meaning. In June 1954, he was found dead in his home; a bitten apple lay beside him. The official inquest concluded that he had committed suicide by cyanide poisoning, although some historians have pointed out that the evidence is not entirely conclusive. The UK did not issue a formal apology until 2009, and Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned him in 2013.
The idea that Apple's logo—a bitten apple—is a tribute to Turing has circulated for decades. It's a much-repeated story, but both the logo's designer, Rob Janoff, and Apple have explicitly denied it: they maintain that the "bite" was only added so that, at a small size, the silhouette wouldn't be mistaken for a cherry. The coincidence remains unproven, but the story has never stopped being told.