A sculpture commemorating the wartime codebreaker Alan Turing at the University of Cambridge's King's College has been approved.
Designed by Sir Antony Gormley, it will be made up of 19 steel blocks and stands more than 3.6m (12ft) tall.
Turing studied at King's College from 1931 to 1934 and was elected a fellow there in 1935.
A college spokesperson said the sculpture would be "a source of great pleasure and interest to many people".
BBC copyrightBBC copyright
Alan Turing
1912 – 1954
1912Alan Mathison Turing was born in West London
1936Produced “On Computable Numbers”, aged 24
1952Convicted of gross indecency for his relationship with a man
2013Received royal pardon for the conviction
Source: BBC
The sculpture is due to be placed next to the Wilkins Building and will be a permanent fixture within college grounds, the Local Democracy Report Service said.
Cambridge City Council's planning committee heard Historic England say the sculpture would be "far more visible" than the proposals implied and could cause "some harm" to the significance of the historic college.
King's College said the sculpture will be viewed by Cambridge residents, university members and those who buy a £10 resident's card, which lasts for three years.
Artist's impression of the Turing sculpture
IMAGE SOURCE,HANNAH BROWN/LDRS
Image caption,
The sculpture, designed by Sir Antony Gormley, will be made up of 19 steel blocks
"Paying visitors will also be able at allocated times to view from close up," a college spokesperson told the council.
"It is hard to overestimate the public benefit of this major work of commemorative art for the college, university and the city.
"It will, we all believe, be a source of great pleasure and interest to many people."
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Some councillors on the planning committee said the sculpture should be in a more public location so it was more accessible.
But King's College said the location was chosen by the sculptor and the college could not be opened up as it would be "impossibly disruptive" for students.
Members of the committee approved the proposal but said the college should look at improving public access to the sculpture.
A sculpture commemorating the wartime codebreaker Alan Turing has been approved for installation at the University of Cambridge's King's College.
Designed by Sir Antony Gormley, the sculpture will be made up of 19 steel blocks and stand more than 3.6m tall.
Turing studied at King's College from 1931 to 1934 and was elected a fellow there in 1935.
A college spokesperson said the sculpture would be "a source of great pleasure and interest to many people".
Who was Alan Turing?
Alan Turing was a computer scientist, mathematician, logician, crypt-analyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist.
During World War II, Turing worked as part of Britain’s code-breaking centre, where he devised a number of techniques for cracking the intercepted coded messages. Turing is credited with helping the Allied forces to defeat the Germans in a number of key battles, including the Battle of the Atlantic.
Turing was particularly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, inventing the Turing Machine – a forerunner of what we now know as a computer. Turing is considered to have been one of the key thinkers in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence.
The life and death of Alan Turing
Born in 1912, Turing died in 1954 at the age of 41.
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency for a sexual encounter with another man. At this time in England, homosexuality was a criminal offence.
As an alternative to prison, Turing agreed to chemical castration treatment.
Turing died of cyanide poisoning. An inquest concluded that his death was suicide.
The pardon of Alan Turing
In 2009, the British Prime Minister made a public apology to Turing on behalf of the British Government.
In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon.
The legacy of Alan Turing
The early 1950s was a period of persecution for gay men in the UK, with over 1,000 gay men imprisoned and countless more lives ruined by blackmail, entrapment, and prosecution.
The arrest and punishment of Alan Turing was among the most high profile persecutions of gay men during this period. The treatment of Turing seems particularly perverse, given the role he had played in defending Britain during World War II.
It’s likely that Turing’s arrest and subsequent death played a part in the establishment of the Wolfenden Committee, which ultimately led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK.
A posthumous pardon and a portrait on a bank note seem to be of little consequence when Turing’s life was consciously and deliberately destroyed, depriving us all of the benefit of his mathematical genius. However, by celebrating Turing’s work and contribution to the world as we know it today, it does send a powerful signal that LGBTQ people are now valued and a key part of our society.
Alan Turing was a computer scientist, mathematician, logician, crypt-analyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist.
During World War II, Turing worked as part of Britain’s code-breaking centre, where he devised a number of techniques for cracking the intercepted coded messages. Turing is credited with helping the Allied forces to defeat the Germans in a number of key battles, including the Battle of the Atlantic.
Turing was particularly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, inventing the Turing Machine – a forerunner of what we now know as a computer. Turing is considered to have been one of the key thinkers in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence.
The life and death of Alan Turing
Born in 1912, Turing died in 1954 at the age of 41.
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for gross indecency for a sexual encounter with another man. At this time in England, homosexuality was a criminal offence.
As an alternative to prison, Turing agreed to chemical castration treatment.
Turing died of cyanide poisoning. An inquest concluded that his death was suicide.
The pardon of Alan Turing
In 2009, the British Prime Minister made a public apology to Turing on behalf of the British Government.
In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon.
The legacy of Alan TuringThe early 1950s was a period of persecution for gay men in the UK, with over 1,000 gay men imprisoned and countless more lives ruined by blackmail, entrapment, and prosecution.
The arrest and punishment of Alan Turing was among the most high profile persecutions of gay men during this period. The treatment of Turing seems particularly perverse, given the role he had played in defending Britain during World War II.
It’s likely that Turing’s arrest and subsequent death played a part in the establishment of the Wolfenden Committee, which ultimately led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK.
A posthumous pardon and a portrait on a bank note seem to be of little consequence when Turing’s life was consciously and deliberately destroyed, depriving us all of the benefit of his mathematical genius. However, by celebrating Turing’s work and contribution to the world as we know it today, it does send a powerful signal that LGBTQ people are now valued and a key part of our society.
