WWII Codebreaker Alan Turing Finally Gets The Stamp Of Approval

Queer history buffs will now have a chance to lick one of their icons all over: Alan Turing, the gay mathematician who helped break the Nazi’s Enigma code in WWII, is being honored with a stamp in his native United Kingdom.

It’s a bittersweet honor for Turing, who was sentenced to chemical castration because of “gross indecency” in 1952 and committed suicide in 1954. Online petitions call for his conviction to be posthumously pardoned.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Turing, who is also considered the father of the modern computer, the Turing Centenary Advisory Committee is coordinating The Alan Turing Year, a year-long program of events around the world honoring his life and achievements.