Alan Turing

When the name ”Alan Turing” is mentioned most people think of one or more of the following words: ”Turing Machine”, ”Turing Test”, ”Enigma” and ”Artificial Intelligence”. The intention of this article is to present a broader approach to Alan Turing instead of solely focusing on the above mentioned key words. Alan Turing was not only a key figure in computer science and crypto-analysis. His work also revolved around subjects such as the growth of plants, the human mind and he also anticipated many of the issues that are being discussed in today’s artificial intelligence research. Being unconventional, ahead of his time as a visionary and openly admitting his homosexuality caused a lot personal problems during his life. However Alan Turing was successfully able to balance his life by relying on personal friends, scientific colleagues, his work and sports. He became a tragic icon when he died at age 42 apparently having committed suicide. 1 Family background and childhood: Alan Mathison Turing was born in London on 23 June 1912. His parents Julius Mathison and Ethel Sara Turing had met in India where Julius worked in the Indian Civil Service. Ethel Sara was the daughter of a chief engineer working for Madras railways. Alan also had an older brother named John. The two boys spent most of their childhood with a variety of foster parents as Julius and Ethel soon moved back to India after Alan’s birth. His childhood was mainly influenced by his family situation and his family’s upper-middle-class status inside the English society at the beginning of the 20th century. There was little incentive for scientific exploration in the family or school at the time so Alan’s first contact with science occurred during his free time. One of the books which he read during his childhood was called ”Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know” ∗e-mail: e0425826@student.tuwien.ac.at