Alan Turing was one of the great minds of the 20th Century. Not only did he lay the foundations of computer science, but he went on to do cryptography at Bletchley Park in the 1940s as part of the war effort. By breaking the Enigma cipher, he may have contributed more to the defeat of Nazi Germany than any other single human being.

His reward? Chemical castration, of course, after authorities found out he was gay and prosecuted him for "gross indecency". The hounding ultimately led him to his (presumably self-inflicted) death by cyanide poisoning.

It's a bit late, but there is now a campaign to secure an apology, and posthumous knighthood, for Alan Turing from the British government. If you know anyone in the UK, please urge them to sign the petition. It's the least anyone can do.