The exclusion of queer life from history often leads to its erasure and disappearance.
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The Apple logo was not inspired by Alan Turing.
If you are reading this, you should thank Alan Turing. Widely considered the father of computer science, Turing was a genius. Among his many achievements was the Turing Machine, which became what we know as the digital computer in 1945. He also helped us win WWII with the cracking of the Enigma code.
He was also a bit of a mess, as many geniuses are, rolling into work in questionable attire (maybe a tennis match with a trenchcoat and nothing else), frequently scattered, and quite uninterested in conversation that bored him.
They even made a movie of his life, The Imitation Game. I’ve never seen it, but upon hearing that it completely washed out a significant part of his life, I decided to write about it. After researching the movie, I have a lot of opinions as well. (Spoiler Alert: despite Bendyman Cucumberpatch, I will not see this movie)
Alan Turing was gay. The movie turned it into some dalliance with a prostitute, but Turing’s love life was much more than that. The movie also made up some spy crap that I don’t even want to get into.
His first love, Christopher Morcum, was unrequited, but they were still very close, sharing a love of math and chemistry. Chris died young in 1930 of tuberculosis and Turing mourned for years, even staying in touch with the family after Christopher’s death. Christopher is credited with giving Turing the impetus to get to Cambridge and continue the work they discussed in school.
Later, he also had a relationship with a man called James Atkins, who was his first lover from 1933 to 1937. Atkins was also a mathematician who later became a singer.
A few years later, Joan Clarke came to work for Alan in 1940. They became very close, Alan finding her an intellectual match for himself. They enjoyed conversations and chess, and eventually they became engaged. Turing fully admitted to “homosexual tendencies,’ but said that that part of his life was over and that he wanted to marry and have children. They met each other’s parents and it seemed for a bit that they would marry. But Turing finally ended the relationship, knowing that he could not overcome his homosexuality and feeling it not fair to Joan.
By the time of his arrest for “gross indecency” in 1952, he had matter-of-factly come out to a few colleagues. He actually seemed a little happy to watch at least one of them, Don Bayley, squirm a little. Most put it aside, as Turing was always a little different anyway.
The trial made it so that he was forced to come out to the world, but before there was mention of it in the papers, Turing decided to inform those close to him who did not already know. He wrote, telephoned, and visited those close to him to report the news. To someone like Turing, his sexuality was merely a fact and simply who he was; he seemed not to understand how people didn’t just get it and move on. Why have strong feelings for something that did not apply to you?
In the end, his conviction stopped his work, as two men (also gay!) convinced Upper Management that he was a risk and he lost his security clearance. I believe that Turing’s death was a suicide, but there are some pretty interesting theories that it wasn’t, most notably his own mother, who thought he was simply careless with his chemicals. Which I can also see.
Happy Pride and here’s to Alan Turing. Thanks for helping me blog 🙂
