Latest news with #AlanTuring
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
'We nearly shredded Alan Turing papers auctioned for £465,000'
A woman who auctioned off papers written by World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing said she was stunned at the price they collection, which dates from the 1930s and included a copy of Turing's PhD dissertation, was sold for £465,400 after an auction in Etwall, Derbyshire, on Pitcher, from Newark, said the papers were discovered in an attic by a cousin at her mother's house after she had been taken into a care home, and included correspondence between the famous scientist and her uncle, fellow mathematician Norman 68-year-old said the historic documents narrowly avoided being disposed of before their value was realised. "There were a couple of boxes and a few carrier bags and they thought about just shredding it all due to how much paper there was," she said."We had a cousin reunion in November 2024 planned, so they kept hold of the papers and brought them along for us all to go through."We had a look through and my husband noticed they were Alan Turing related. I had a closer look and found a letter Alan Turing wrote to my uncle, which we knew about."However, we found more letters including one from Turing's mum to my uncle. Upon further look, we noticed one of the papers had Alan Turing's signature on, so that gave me a bit of a fizzle."My cousins then agreed I could take them away to investigate."Ms Pitcher said the family "didn't know anything" about her uncle's friendship with Turing, and had "no idea at all" how much the papers would be worth when they took them for were given an estimate of "anything from £50-60,000 to £150,000", a price comfortably cleared at the eventual Pitcher said she was "very pleased" to see the papers find an appreciative home."I'm delighted that they have gone to people who wanted them and can really appreciate them," she said."The papers are pure math - it was all maths, so it didn't mean anything to me because it was all about maths and at a level that you need to be a pretty good mathematician to understand."
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Science
- AU Financial Review
Alan Turing built AI to save lives. Now we're regulating it to death
In the early 1940s Alan Turing, based in Bletchley Park in England, was tasked with breaking the Enigma code, used by the German navy to locate their submarine fleet. Turing conceded that the finest human brain could not break the daily resets of the code in less than 20 years – a far cry from the urgent needs of the British armed forces that it be broken in less than 24 hours. So Turing created the first model of a general-purpose computer – Turing is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science – to overcome the limitations of the human brain to perform a vital task.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Codebreaker's WW2 papers sell for ‘record' £465K after almost being shredded
Papers belonging to mathematician Alan Turing - who created machines that helped to crack Adolf Hitler's enigma code - have been sold for a record breaking £465,000 at auction Papers belonging to World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing have sold for a record-breaking £465,400 at auction. The mathematician's paper archive - which narrowly escaped being shredded - include a signed version of what is widely known as the first computer programming guide, a personal copy of his 1939 PhD dissertation. Turing's mother Ethel originally gifted the archive to his pal, mathematician Norman Routledge - who kept them until his death. After he passed away the papers, which included letters from Passage to India author, EM Forster, were taken to the loft of a relative in Bermondsey, south London. Previously, one of the author's nieces said: 'When (Routledge) died in 2013, two of his sisters had the unenviable task of sorting through and emptying the contents. 'There were lots of personal papers which one sister carted away and stored in her loft. The papers lay dormant until she moved into a care home almost a decade later. 'Her daughters came across the papers and considered shredding everything. Fortunately, they checked with Norman's nieces and nephews because he'd always been a presence in our lives.' Initially, auctioneers believed the lots would only earn a top price of £60,000 . However, auctioneers at Hansons said one part of the dissertation, On Computable Numbers, sold for £208,000 alone. Meanwhile, Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals added another £110,500. Bids came from people on the phone, online and in person when the lot started at Rare Book Auctions, part of Hansons, in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Turing's first published paper, which comprises of a single sheet, sold for £7,800. It was also gifted to Routledge, and includes a handwritten letter from Turing's mother dated May 16, 1956. The letter, which was attached to the Equivalence of Left And Right Almost Periodcity, reads: 'I have to-day sent by registered post 13 of Alan's off-prints … I have had some requests to write a biography of Alan … I have masses of material because from the time he was about 6 I spotted a winner – despite many detractors at school – and kept many papers about him.' Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said: 'Nothing could've prepared me for what I found in that carrier bag. 'These plain, academic papers were absolutely electrifying – they are the very bedrock of modern computing. Handling them was both humbling and haunting. 'Knowing the tragic arc of Turing's life only adds to the emotional weight. He was treated appallingly despite all he had done and yet, here, his ideas remain alive, relevant, and revolutionary.' Mr Spencer added: 'This was the most important archive I've ever handled. The papers came within inches of being destroyed, and instead they've captured the world 's imagination. 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime discovery – not just for collectors, but for the sake of preserving the story of one of the greatest minds in history.'
Euronews
4 days ago
- Science
- Euronews
Rare papers of World War II hero Alan Turing sell for record price
A collection of rare scientific papers written by mathematician, computer scientist and Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing has sold for a record £465,400 (€544,400) at auction in Lichfield, UK. The documents were discovered in a loft at a property in Bermondsey, London, and were almost destroyed during a house clearance. Some of the rare items that went under the hammer included a personal signed copy of Turing's 1938 PhD dissertation, "Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals", which sold for £110,500 (€129,200), as well as his paper "On Computable Numbers" - also known as "Turing's Proof" - which introduced the world to the idea of a universal computing machine in 1936. The collection also included "The Chemical Basis Of Morphogenesis", which sold for £19,500 (€22,800). Dating from 1952, it is Turing's last major published work. The treasure trove of Turing material had originally been gifted to Turing's friend and fellow mathematician, Norman Routledge, by Turing's mother, Ethel. Routledge kept the papers and, on his death, they were taken to his sister's loft. Hansons Auctioneers had estimated the lots would sell for £40,000 to £60,000 each, but "On Computable Numbers" alone sold for £208,000 (€243,000). Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said of the papers, which were brought to experts in a carrier bag: 'Nothing could've prepared me for what I found in that carrier bag. These plain, academic papers were absolutely electrifying – they are the very bedrock of modern computing. Handling them was both humbling and haunting.' He continued: 'Knowing the tragic arc of Turing's life only adds to the emotional weight. He was treated appallingly despite all he had done and yet, here, his ideas remain alive, relevant, and revolutionary.' Spencer added: 'This was the most important archive I've ever handled. The papers came within inches of being destroyed, and instead they've captured the world's imagination. It's a once-in-a-lifetime discovery – not just for collectors, but for the sake of preserving the story of one of the greatest minds in history.' Turing is widely regarded as the father of computing science and played a central role in breaking the Enigma code, used by the Nazis during the Second World War. After the war, he was convicted of being involved in homosexual acts and accepted a procedure commonly referred to as chemical castration as an alternative to prison. Truing took his own life on 7 June 1954, aged 41. Following a campaign in 2009, British prime minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology for the 'appalling way' Turing was treated after the war. Queen Elizabeth II granted a pardon in 2013. The "Alan Turing law' is a term used informally to refer to a 2017 law in the UK that retroactively pardoned men convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bunch of old papers that were almost shredded after being found hidden in a loft have sold for massive £465k - because they are the work of a WWII hero
A trove of pioneering work by Alan Turing that was found in a loft and almost shredded today sold for nearly half a million pounds. The so-called Alan Turing Papers are the origins of computer science by the late genius mathematician and were discovered in the attic of a fellow mathematician who was given them by Turing's mother after her son's death in 1954. The work, which was bought at auction for £465,500, was rediscovered by the relatives of Norman Routledge when they were having a clear out. The collection included the wartime code breaker's personal signed copy of his 1938 PhD dissertation, 'Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals' - it sold for £110,500 at auction today. His paper 'On Computable Numbers' also known as 'Turing's Proof' which introduced the world to the idea of a universal computing machine in 1936, sold for £208,000. It has been described as the first programming manual of the computer age. Turing played a vital role in cracking the German Enigma code which was crucial to the Allied victory in the Second World War. But he was later persecuted for being a homosexual and took his own life aged 41. After Turing's death, his mother Ethel gave her son's papers to his loyal friend and fellow mathematician Norman Routledge. Ethel wrote Mr Routledge a covering letter in which she revealed how she knew her late son 'was a winner from the age of six' After his death his mother Ethel gave her son's papers to his loyal friend Norman, writing him a letter that said she knew her late son 'was a winner from the age of six.' She added that she 'always believed that he had a gift' as well as doubts that Turing's death was suicide, stating she was convinced it was accidental poisoning of cyanide. Jim Spencer, of Rare Books Auctions of Lichfield, Staffs, which sold the papers, said: 'This was the most important archive I've ever handled. The papers came within inches of being destroyed, and instead they've captured the world's imagination. 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime discovery - not just for collectors, but for the sake of preserving the story of one of the greatest minds in history. 'The result of the sale is a reminder that Turing's life and achievements must continue to be celebrated and studied. 'The vendor was absolutely over the moon. To think these precious papers could've been lost to the shredder - and now they will go on to educate and inspire generations. 'Turing was a man ahead of his time, and through these pages, he lives on.' After Mr Routledge's death, his sister stored the papers in the attic where they lay dormant until she recently moved into a care home. Her daughters came across the papers but they too didn't realise their importance or significance at first. Luckily, they took them along to a family reunion event and one relative thought they should seek an expert opinion on them. They then took them to a Rare Book Auctions valuation day in a carrier bag. Mr Spencer said: 'Nothing could've prepared me for what I was about to find in that carrier bag. I opened it and thought 'good lord.' 'These seemingly plain papers - perfectly preserved in the muted colours of their unadorned, academic wrappers - represent the foundations of computer science and modern digital computing.' He explained the papers, known as 'offprints', were produced in very small numbers and distributed among fellow scholars making them incredibly scarce survivors that rarely ever appear on the market. Mr Spencer added: 'They are prized by collectors as representing the first separate edition of an important work. 'The dissertation is really important and the fact it is signed by Turing makes it extra special. 'Intensively researching and cataloguing these papers has left me feeling that Alan Turing was superhuman. 'For me, it's like studying the language of another planet, something composed by an ultra-intelligent civilisation. 'At the same time, I keep thinking of the tragic end to Turing's life, precisely because he was treated as alien - charged as a criminal, barred from GCHQ, banned from the United States, and forced to undergo chemical castration - all this despite the invaluable work he'd done at Bletchley Park during the war, and for nothing more than his sexuality. 'This injustice, and the fact he didn't survive to see his enormous influence and impact, makes these papers feel so special.' The Turing Papers include 'The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis' from 1952, Turing's lesser-known masterpiece of mathematical biology and his last major published work. It has since become a basic model in theoretical biology. There are also letters written to Norman from the celebrated novelist E.M Forster in the collection. One of Norman's nieces said: 'Norman was an amazing man who showed genuine interest in everyone he came into contact with. His family were very important to him. He kept in regular contact and was interested in what each one was doing. 'We finally had an opportunity to see Norman's papers when the family hosted a 'Routledge Reunion' weekend in November 2024. 'The papers were brought along in a carrier bag. One cousin felt the Turing and Forster papers might be of interest to collectors.' Before Turing pleaded guilty to the criminal charge of gross indecency for homosexual acts in 1952, he sent Norman a poignant letter known as 'Yours in distress'. It was this letter that was read out by Benedict Cumberbatch who played Turing in the 2014 film The Imitation Game. It read: 'I've now got myself into the kind of trouble that I have always considered to be quite a possibility for me, though I have usually rated it at about 10:1 against. 'I shall shortly be pleading guilty to a charge of sexual offences with a young man. 'The story of how it all came to be found out is a long and fascinating one, which I shall have to make into a short story one day, but haven't the time to tell you now. 'No doubt I shall emerge from it all a different man, but quite who I've not found out.' The letter is now in the Alan Turing Archive at King's College Cambridge.
