Codebreaker – Alan Turing's life and legacy

Codebreaker is an exhibition developed by the Science Museum to celebrate the centenary of the birth of this pioneering British figure.

Alan Turing is most widely known for his critical involvement in the codebreaking at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. But Alan Turing was not just a codebreaker.

This British mathematician was also a philosopher and computing pioneer who grappled with the fundamental problems of life itself. His ideas have helped shape the modern world, including early computer programming and even the seeds of artificial intelligence. This exhibition tells the story of Turing and his most important ideas.

At the heart of the exhibition is the Pilot ACE computer, built to Turing’s ground-breaking design. It is the most significant surviving Turing artefact in existence.

Alongside this remarkable machine is a sequence of exhibits showcasing Turing’s breadth of talent. Together with interactive exhibits, personal recollections and a wealth of historic imagery, the exhibition offers an absorbing retrospective view of one of Britain’s greatest twentieth-century thinkers.

A large print gallery book is available in PDF format for this exhibition.

This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of

.