How Strange Was Alan Turing?

Alan Turing was the founding father of modern computing. Born 23 June 1912, Turing led a very successful life. He was known as a war hero, Britain's greatest code breaker, an accomplished athlete and mathematician and simply one of his country's most brilliant minds.

During his life, Turing experienced some paranoia. It was said that Turing would chain his coffee mug to a radiator to keep others from using it and even sometimes be seen wearing a gas mask to work. Unfortunately, Turing's odd behavior was the aftermath of a troublesome personal life that eventually lead to his death by suicide in 1954. Turing poisoned himself with cyanide in his home.

More about mathematician Alan Turing:

• It has been suggested that the Apple computer logo was inspired by Turing.
• Alan Turing wrote the basis for the modern theory of computation, also known as the Turing machine.
• In 1949, at Manchester University, Turing developed work that became the groundwork for the field of artificial intelligence.