Stories you don't hear
I’ve recently read on Wikipedia that Alan Turing was gay. For those of you who don’t speak Geek, or are unfamiliar with our history, Turing is known to be the father of computer science, while also gaining little acclaim as a major participant to break German ciphers. This guy, simply put was a hero, saving lives and gaining recognition nearly 20 years after his death. Anyhow, I was looking his name up for some odd reason on Wikipedia, and found this entry:
Prosecution of Turing for his homosexuality crippled his career. In 1952, his male lover helped an accomplice to break into Turing's house and commit larceny. Turing went to the police to report the crime. As a result of the police investigation, Turing was said to have had a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old man, and charged with "gross indecency and sexual perversion." He unapologetically offered no defence, and was convicted. Following the well-publicised trial, he was given a choice between incarceration and libido-reducing hormonal treatment. He chose the estrogen hormone injections, which lasted for a year, with side effects including the development of breasts.In 1954, he died of cyanide poisoning, apparently from a cyanide-laced apple he left half-eaten. Most believe that his death was intentional, and the death was ruled a suicide. His mother, however, strenuously argued that the ingestion was accidental due to his careless storage of laboratory chemicals. Friends of his have said that Turing may have killed himself in this ambiguous way quite deliberately, to give his mother some plausible deniability.
Wow. This is one of the saddest things I’ve read in a while (possibly next to the Taiping Rebellion). I’ve had close friends that are gay, abused and hurt for who they are, most of whom have considered suicide due to the overwhelming pressure of society. This kind of struck a chord with me, and find it somewhat incredulous that I’ve never heard of this before.The eerie significance of all of this is the early Apple logo: A rainbow apple with a bite taken from it.
Prosecution of Turing for his homosexuality crippled his career. In 1952, his male lover helped an accomplice to break into Turing's house and commit larceny. Turing went to the police to report the crime. As a result of the police investigation, Turing was said to have had a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old man, and charged with "gross indecency and sexual perversion." He unapologetically offered no defence, and was convicted. Following the well-publicised trial, he was given a choice between incarceration and libido-reducing hormonal treatment. He chose the estrogen hormone injections, which lasted for a year, with side effects including the development of breasts.In 1954, he died of cyanide poisoning, apparently from a cyanide-laced apple he left half-eaten. Most believe that his death was intentional, and the death was ruled a suicide. His mother, however, strenuously argued that the ingestion was accidental due to his careless storage of laboratory chemicals. Friends of his have said that Turing may have killed himself in this ambiguous way quite deliberately, to give his mother some plausible deniability.
Wow. This is one of the saddest things I’ve read in a while (possibly next to the Taiping Rebellion). I’ve had close friends that are gay, abused and hurt for who they are, most of whom have considered suicide due to the overwhelming pressure of society. This kind of struck a chord with me, and find it somewhat incredulous that I’ve never heard of this before.The eerie significance of all of this is the early Apple logo: A rainbow apple with a bite taken from it.
posted by Jibberwashed at 2:12 AM
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