In 1941 Alan Turing cracked the Enigma code, saving what military historians estimate to be somewhere between 14 to 21 million lives in WWII (Cashill, 2014). Born in London in 1912 Turing was an expert mathematician, computer scientist, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist (IWM Staff, 2018). His work for the Allied powers won us a war (Disalvo, 2012). A decade later in 1952, Turing was arrested and convicted of “Gross Indecency” when authorities discovered this national hero was gay. He was sentenced to undergo what was called “organo-therapy,” or chemical castration. Within two years he was found dead of cyanide poisoning, still very much gay but now thoroughly defeated. Betrayed by the country he loved, publicly humiliated, …show more content…
"'The Imitation Game': Who Was the Real Alan Turing?" Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2018, https://www.biography.com/news/alan-turing-biography-imitation-game.

CNS. "California Is First State to Ban 'Conversion' Therapy for Homosexual Teens." CNS News. 01 Oct. 2012, https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/california-first-state-ban-conversion-therapy-homosexual-teens-0.

DiSalvo, David. "How Alan Turing Helped Win WWII And Was Thanked With Criminal Prosecution For Being Gay." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/05/27/how-alan-turing-helped-win-wwii-and-was-thanked-with-criminal-prosecution-for-being-gay/#4c328c7b5cc3.

Holland, Brynn. “How Activists Plotted the First Gay Pride Parades.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 June 2017, www.history.com/news/how-activists-plotted-the-first-gay-pride-parades.

Holland, Brynn. “How the Mob Helped Establish NYC's Gay Bar Scene.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 June 2017, www.history.com/news/how-the-mob-helped-establish-nycs-gay-bar-scene.

IWM Staff. "How Alan Turing Cracked The Enigma Code." Imperial War Museums.