03/31/1952 AD convicted

Turing is convicted of homosexuality and indecency and given a choice of imprisonment or probation.

His probation would be conditional on his agreement to undergo hormonal physical changes designed to reduce libido, known as "chemical castration."

He accepted the option of injections of what was then called stilboestrol (now known as diethylstilbestrol or DES), a synthetic oestrogen; this feminization of his body was continued for the course of one year. The treatment rendered Turing impotent and caused breast tissue to form, fulfilling in the literal sense Turing's prediction that "no doubt I shall emerge from it all a different man, but quite who I've not found out".

Turing's conviction led to the removal of his security clearance and barred him from continuing with his cryptographic consultancy for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British signals intelligence agency that had evolved from GC&CS in 1946, though he kept his academic job.

He was denied entry into the USA after his conviction in 1952, but was free to visit other European countries.

London

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Longitude: 0.1278° W
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Modern Day United Kingdom

Events in 1952 MORE