
Put Alan Turing on the next £10 note - dmitri1981
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31659
======
mullingitover
There are other deserving scientists and thinkers, it's true. But there are no
other scientists or thinkers that were as grievously and unapologetically
wronged by the UK as Turing was. For all he did to help them win what was
literally a fight for their existence, they should've put him on the ten pound
note in 1946 amid celebration, instead of vacillating about it in 2012.

~~~
mibbitier
Quite a few other people fought in the war, and quite a lot of people paid
with their lives.

Not to downplay Turings own contribution, but I wish the hyperbole and the "he
was persecuted!" angle could be reined in somehow.

Also if anything I think scientists/thinkers have had more than their fair
share of slots in banknotes. Perhaps the turn of former PMs, artists, charity
founders etc.

~~~
MartinCron
Are you saying he wasn't persecuted, or that it doesn't matter that he was?
Serious question.

~~~
mibbitier
Throughout history, people sometimes make bad calls. With hindsight, it's easy
to see what those were. Clearly some of his treatment was in the 'bad call'
camp, but I don't think that was clear at the time.

Do you think he'd rather be remembered for his contribution to science, or for
being 'persecuted by the government'? Personally, I expect it'd be the former.

I think it's useful to put things in perspective though... People fought in
the war and DIED.

~~~
woobles
Yes, they did, and Turing was chemically castrated. Not by the baddies,
either. It might not be going to war to die, but that is still pretty messed
up.

~~~
mullingitover
> Yes, they did, and Turing was chemically castrated. Not by the baddies,
> either.

I'd argue that it was in fact the baddies that did this to him. The flag that
injustice is committed under does not change the fact of the injustice.

------
mibbitier
With all due respect I think there's quite a few names on the list that should
be way ahead in the queue.

~~~
martinwnet
Who in your opinion should be ahead?

I see a few names on that list that shouldn't even be in the queue in my
opinion.

 _David Beckham, Jonny Wilkinson, Robbie Williams, Michael Vaughan, Terry
Wogan, Princess Diana..._

~~~
eigenvector
Michael Faraday. Sir Isaac Newton. James Clerk Maxwell.

(among many others)

There are quite a few folks on there that have undoubtedly placed themselves
among the very highest class of contributors to the advancement of humanity.

~~~
dkarl
You're right about Maxwell. The other two have already appeared on banknotes.
(The ones highlighted in grey have already appeared on banknotes, though
there's some inconsistency between the highlighting and Wikipedia's list of
people on UK currency.)

Other scientists, mathematicians, and technical innovators already honored:
Kelvin, Darwin, James Watt, Florence Nightingale, George Stephenson, Alexander
Graham Bell, and Alexander Fleming.

------
thomasthurman
The government's response to the petition says that it needs another 80,000
signatures to be debated by parliament. This is true, but on the other hand it
already has been [1]. The role of this petition has always been to show that
there is significant interest in having Turing on the tenner, rather than to
reach 100,000 signatures as such. But if it does get that far, I won't be
complaining.

For what it's worth, the Bank of England will "certainly be looking at him".
[2]

Full disclosure: I was the one who started this petition, back in March. (You
might like to note that <http://turingonthetenner.com> redirects to the
petition page.)

[1]
[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/c...](http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120627/halltext/120627h0002.htm)
[2] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/apr/13/working-life-
hea...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/apr/13/working-life-head-of-
notes-bank-of-england)

------
ExpiredLink
The Turing hype has gone over the top.

~~~
jgrahamc
Beware the Alan Turing fetish: <http://blog.jgc.org/2011/11/beware-alan-
turing-fetish.html>

~~~
chrisaycock
I really like this article. I suppose the corollary would be to claim that
Silicon Valley is so great because Don Knuth lives there.

------
sbuk
It's nice to see Tommy Flowers name on the list. It's a shame that his
contribution always seems to be overlooked.

------
bruceboughton
Looking at the list of names proposed by the public
([http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Documents/about/ban...](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Documents/about/banknote_names.pdf))
there are some people who are still alive.

I hope and expect that the Bank would not consider putting the image of a
living person on a note.

~~~
deweerdt
> I hope and expect that the Bank would not consider putting the image of a
> living person on a note.

I dunno, I'd make an exception for John Cleese.

~~~
bruceboughton
Why? I'm sure he'd find it a bit embarassing while he was still alive.

~~~
jlgreco
I would hope he would have fun with it, like try to use bills with himself as
photo identification.

------
philbarr
It's the very least we could do after having persecuted him whilst being alive
even though he contributed so much. The apology he got years later always
seemed a little feeble to me.

~~~
7952
As a memorial to persecuted gay people it would be more poignant to choose
someone that people have ever heard of in the style of the unknown solider in
the cenotaph. The damage done to Alan Turing was shared by many people who
have just as much right to be recognised. The tragedy is not the destruction
of genius but the destruction of hope and happiness and life. Put Michael
Causer on a bank note.

~~~
thomasthurman
(A pedant writes:) The unknown soldier is in Westminster Abbey. There's nobody
in the Cenotaph, by definition (a cenotaph is an empty tomb).

------
Zenst
I think the £50 would be a fairer choice or even the £20. Alan Turing on the
brown £10 does not seem the best choice of note perhaps. The £50 is pinkish
and the £20 a purplish colour. I personaly like the £20 the best astheticaly.

For reference on UK bank notes:
[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/defau...](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/default.aspx)

It is also worth mentioning that Alan Turing is already approved to be on a UK
bank note and is on the waiting list so to speak as seen here:

[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Documents/about/ban...](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Documents/about/banknote_names.pdf)
(those names highlighted in dark grey have already been used upon a banknote)

~~~
comicjk
I would say the 10 is best for Turing regardless of color. It has a 1 and a 0,
apt for a computer scientist.

------
dj2stein9
Alan Turing was treated really, really horribly by the government of the UK. I
very much doubt he would like to be honored by the exact people who persecuted
and destroyed his life.

~~~
evoxed
This is a tempting argument, but think for a second whether you actually
believe it. Are they the _exact people_ who did that to him? Not at all. You
can say all you want about how the government has or hasn't changed, but I
think the fact that it's up for discussion is a good sign. It's a different
time, different people, and if the people want to honour him I don't think
that's necessarily a bad thing (even if he were able to judge). Of course, if
you refuse to look past the _symbol_ of government then I guess you're pretty
much stuck where you said.

------
richliss
He absolutely needs to be put on a note. He's one of the most important
persons we've ever had grace our country, and with the help of a few other
honourable Brits, and some extremely bright Poles helped secure the world we
now live in.

Consider the fact that he was treated dreadfully after the war, and that the
vast majority of our country would probably think Simon Cowell is more
significant, we need to celebrate Alan Turing. Hopefully the first steps to
another Age of Enlightenment.

------
CKKim
> The Bank of England has been including historic characters on its notes
> since 1970.

The use of the word "characters" here seems comical to me. It makes me think
of Dennis the Menace, James Bond, etc.

~~~
Ingaz
Funny.

Imagine banknotes with Jack the Ripper, Batman, Terminator and others

------
patrickgzill
No.

