Maths

Famous in This Field:

Alan Turing

Alan Turing (born June 23, 1912) was a famous British mathematician.Having been a child prodigy, he went on to university to pursue his PhD.

Soon, he became an important member of a group of code-breakers in the 'Government Code and Cypher School' Bletchley Park. He was given the daunting task of deciphering the ever-changing German codes sent through the ingenious machine, 'Enigma'.

Alan proved the almost impossible task, possible with his 'bombe' device, which used a technique called 'Banburismus'. Eventually this mathematician and his team of code-breakers were successful in defeating the 'Enigma'. However, two code-breakers from his team were found out to be Soviet spies, and thus the work was declared highly confidential.

For a long time, no records of Turing's work were available, and the 'Official Secrets Act' prohibited him from talking about his work to anyone. His homosexuality caused him to be convicted, though the British government has apologized posthumously in recent times. His works and life has recently been popularized by the ‘Academy Award’ winning movie, ‘The Imitation Game’, released in 2014. Read on and explore the life and works of this brilliant mathematician and code-breaker.

Maths: Further Information & Links:

• Link To National Curriculum (Maths)
• Link To BBC Bitesize KS2 Maths
• Link To Maths Chase - Times Tables Game