Alan Turing Memorial

Bronze statue of the father of computing, seated on a bench in Sackville Gardens

Address Sackville Gardens, Manchester M1 3BN

The Alan Turing Memorial in Sackville Gardens, a short walk from Canal Street, shows the mathematician seated on a park bench, holding an apple — a reference to the manner of his death. The statue was unveiled in 2001, fifty years after Turing was convicted for the "crime" of being gay by the same government whose codebreaking operation he had effectively won the Second World War for.

Turing's foundational contributions to computing and artificial intelligence were worked out in Manchester: he joined the University of Manchester in 1948, and it was on the Manchester Mark 1 computer that much of his theoretical work was first implemented. The memorial is in the Gay Village, close to the canal, and is tended carefully. It has become a place of pilgrimage for computing enthusiasts and human rights advocates alike. The apple at his side is both biographical fact and symbol.

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Alan Turing was prosecuted by the British government in 1952 for "gross indecency" — homosexuality was still a criminal offence. He was chemically castrated as an alternative to prison. He died two years later of cyanide poisoning, ruled a suicide, though the circumstances remain disputed. He was 41. Manchester waited until 2001 to erect a memorial. The UK government issued a formal apology in 2009 and a royal pardon in 2013.