23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954, Turing was a British mathematician,
logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly
influential in the development of computer science, providing a
formalization of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation"
with his own machine called the Turing machine. Turing is widely
considered to be the father of computer science and artificial
intelligence. His work created the foundation for computer based
technology as we know it today. During World War II, Turing
worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at
Bletchley Park, Britain's code breaking centre. For a time he
was head of Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval
cryptanalysis. He devised a number of techniques for breaking
German ciphers, including the method of the bombe, an
electromechanical machine that could find settings for the
German Enigma code machine. He is widely known for his Turing
Test, which tests a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent
behavior.