Alan Turing was born on June 23rd, 1912. Turing is widely credited for being an early pioneer in – some would even say inventor of – computer science and artificial intelligence, but perhaps less well-known is his key role in saving the world from fascism. During WWII, he played a pivotal role in breaking the German’s “Enigma” code. Without that contribution, the outcome of the war might have been very different. It has been estimated that breaking Enigma shortened the war by two to four years, saving millions.
A good documentary was made about him, Breaking the Code, but it wasn’t until Hollywood took notice of his story and told it in the 2014 film The Imitation Game that he got his cinematic due.