Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954
The sudden death of Alan Turing on 7 June 1954 deprived mathematics and science of a great original mind at the height of its power. After some years of scientific indecision, since the end of the war, Turing had found, in his chemical theory of growth and form, a theme that gave the fullest scope f...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 2024-09-15T18:37:45+00:00 Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 Newman, Maxwell Herman Alexander 1955 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society volume 1, page 253-263 ISSN 0080-4606 1748-8494 journal-article 1955 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 2024-07-08T04:26:41Z The sudden death of Alan Turing on 7 June 1954 deprived mathematics and science of a great original mind at the height of its power. After some years of scientific indecision, since the end of the war, Turing had found, in his chemical theory of growth and form, a theme that gave the fullest scope for his rare combination of abilities, as a mathematical analyst with a flair for machine computing, and a natural philosopher full of bold original ideas. The preliminary report of 1952, and the account that will appear posthumously, describe only his first rough sketch of this theory, and the unfulfilled design must remain a painful reminder of the loss that his early death has caused to science. Alan Mathison Turing was born in London on 23 June 1912, the son of Julius Mathison Turing, of the Indian Civil Service, and of Ethel Sara Turing ( née Stoney). The name ‘Turing’ is of Scottish, perhaps ultimately of Norman origin, the final g being an addition made by Sir William Turing, of Aberdeenshire, in the reign of James VI and I. The Stoneys, an English-Irish family of Yorkshire origin, produced some distinguished physicists and engineers in the nineteenth century, three of whom became Fellows of the Society; and Edith A. Stoney was one of the early women equal-to-wranglers at Cambridge (bracketed with 17th Wrangler, 1893). Alan Turing’s interest in science began early and never wavered. Both at his preparatory schools and later at Sherborne, which he entered in 1926, the contrast between his absorbed interest in science and mathematics, and his indifference to Latin and ‘English subjects’ perplexed and distressed his teachers, bent on giving him a well-balanced education. Article in Journal/Newspaper stoney The Royal Society Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1 253 263 |
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The sudden death of Alan Turing on 7 June 1954 deprived mathematics and science of a great original mind at the height of its power. After some years of scientific indecision, since the end of the war, Turing had found, in his chemical theory of growth and form, a theme that gave the fullest scope for his rare combination of abilities, as a mathematical analyst with a flair for machine computing, and a natural philosopher full of bold original ideas. The preliminary report of 1952, and the account that will appear posthumously, describe only his first rough sketch of this theory, and the unfulfilled design must remain a painful reminder of the loss that his early death has caused to science. Alan Mathison Turing was born in London on 23 June 1912, the son of Julius Mathison Turing, of the Indian Civil Service, and of Ethel Sara Turing ( née Stoney). The name ‘Turing’ is of Scottish, perhaps ultimately of Norman origin, the final g being an addition made by Sir William Turing, of Aberdeenshire, in the reign of James VI and I. The Stoneys, an English-Irish family of Yorkshire origin, produced some distinguished physicists and engineers in the nineteenth century, three of whom became Fellows of the Society; and Edith A. Stoney was one of the early women equal-to-wranglers at Cambridge (bracketed with 17th Wrangler, 1893). Alan Turing’s interest in science began early and never wavered. Both at his preparatory schools and later at Sherborne, which he entered in 1926, the contrast between his absorbed interest in science and mathematics, and his indifference to Latin and ‘English subjects’ perplexed and distressed his teachers, bent on giving him a well-balanced education. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Newman, Maxwell Herman Alexander |
spellingShingle |
Newman, Maxwell Herman Alexander Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
author_facet |
Newman, Maxwell Herman Alexander |
author_sort |
Newman, Maxwell Herman Alexander |
title |
Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
title_short |
Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
title_full |
Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
title_fullStr |
Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Alan Mathison Turing, 1912-1954 |
title_sort |
alan mathison turing, 1912-1954 |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
1955 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 |
genre |
stoney |
genre_facet |
stoney |
op_source |
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society volume 1, page 253-263 ISSN 0080-4606 1748-8494 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1955.0019 |
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Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |
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1 |
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253 |
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263 |
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1810482109259710464 |