Alan Turing Gets His Apology

Alan Turing, the British genius who cracked the Nazi's Enigma code during World War II and therefore helped to win the war but was then persecuted unto suicide by the British government because of his homosexuality, has finally received his decent apology from the British government.

Following a widespread online petition drive to get the Brits to acknowledge their disservice to this hero, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote the apology in an article in The Telegraph. I think it's actually quite a nice piece of work, and it's to Brown's credit. It properly notes the incredible injustices done to gay Brits throughout the years, and concludes with this:

It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present. So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work, I am very proud to say: we're sorry. You deserved so much better.

Amen.

Petition Supporting British Gay World War II Code Breaker

CNN reports on a petition asking the British government to apologize for its persecution of Alan Turing, who broke the famed German Enigma code during the war. He was subjected to chemical castration after being charged with "gross indecency" for having a homosexual relationship.

Never mind that he helped win a war.

Links to the petition are in the CNN article. Note: There are two petitions, one only for British and another for international support.