Alan Turing

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Records

Alan Turing's posthumous recognition is extraordinary. He has been honored with a royal pardon, a banknote, and numerous statues and buildings named after him. In 1999, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. The 2019 BBC poll ranked him the greatest scientist of the 20th century. His work continues to inspire new generations of computer scientists and mathematicians.

AwardsAlan Turing did not receive major awards during his lifetime, as his work was classified and his contributions were not publicly recognized until decades later. However, he has been honored posthumously with numerous accolades, including the ACM Turing Award, often considered the highest honor in computer science, which was named after him in 1966. The award is given annually to individuals for contributions of lasting technical importance to the computing field.

Honours & Distinctions

Posthumous Royal Pardon

Queen Elizabeth II·2013

Granted a royal pardon for his 1952 conviction for gross indecency.

Alan Turing Law

UK Parliament·2017

Legislation retroactively pardoning men convicted under historical anti-homosexuality laws.

Face on Bank of England £50 Note

Bank of England·2021

Featured on the polymer £50 note, recognizing his contributions to computing.

Greatest Scientist of the 20th Century

BBC·2019

Voted by the public in a BBC poll.

Rankings & Lists

Greatest Scientist of the 20th Century

BBC·2019

#Listed

100 Most Important People of the 20th Century

Time·1999

Records & Feats

First to formalize the concept of universal computation

Historic First·1936

Turing's 1936 paper introduced the Turing machine, a mathematical model that defined the limits of computation.

First to propose a test for machine intelligence

Historic First·1950

The Turing Test, proposed in 1950, remains a foundational concept in AI.