TheBank of Englandhas chosen a new individual to grace one of its pound sterling notes , theBBCreports . Alan Turing , the electronic computer scientist who lent his code - break expertness to the Allied big businessman in World War II , will soon be the new face of the £ 50 banknote .
Alan Turing’slife storyhas been the guinea pig of a caper , an opera house , and the 2014 Oscar - winning filmThe Imitation Game , starringBenedict Cumberbatch . Turing ’s biggest title to renown was cracking the Enigma codification used by the Nazis to send clandestine substance . By decrypting the system and render Nazi plans , Turing helped cut World War II short by up to two class , agree to one estimate .
Despite his tremendous contributions to the state of war and the line of business of calculator science , Turing received little credit during his lifetime because his body of work was classified , and because he was gay : Homosexual action was illegal in the UK and legitimatise in 1967 . He was get in 1952 after confidence learned he was in a relationship with another man , and he opted for chemical emasculation over serving poky time . He died of cyanide poisoning from an apparent suicide in 1954 .
Now , decennium after penalise him for his sex , England is celebrate Turing and his accomplishments by giving him a prominent place on its currency . The £ 50 note is the least commonly used bank bill in the country , and it will be the last to conversion from paper to polymer . When the new banknote enters circulation by the oddment of 2021 , it will sport a 1951 photograph of Alan Turing along with hisquote , " This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be . "
Turing beat up out a smattering of other British scientists for his point on the £ 50 banknote . Other influential figures in the running includedRosalind Franklin , Ada Lovelaceand Charles Babbage , Stephen Hawking , andWilliam Herschel .
[ h / tBBC ]
