17 July 2011

Alan Turing, Sackville Park, Manchester

Alan Turing, Sackville Park, near the Gay Village, Manchester. I have to be careful about posts on subjects I know nothing about, as there's always someone picking me up on errors. OK, I know nothing of Mathematics, and I've been corrected before about Alan Turing, as in my previous post here.


In his hand is an apple: he killed himself with a cyanide-laced one aged 41, after being forced to undergo 'treatment' for his homosexuality.

'Alan Mathison Turing
1912-1954
Father of Computer Science
Mathematician, Logician
Wartime Codebreaker
Victim of Prejudice'
________________________

'Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth
but supreme beauty, a beauty cold and austere
like that of sculpture' - Bertrand Russell


'THE BEACON OF HOPE
The "BEACON OF HOPE" and "TREE OF LIFE" is [sic] dedicated to all those
who have lost their lives to HIV / AIDS and those living with and affected
by the virus. The Beacon is a permanent awareness of the
threat of HIV / AIDS to every individual person.
______________________________

'This project has been made possible thanks to the generous
contributions from:-
_______________________________

'Black HIV & AIDS forum; Body Positive North West; Clone Zone; Diana,
Princess of Wales Memorial Fund; George House Trust; Lesbian & Gay
Foundation;  Lifeline Project; Manchester City Council; Manchester Health
Authority; Manchester Lesbian & Gay Mardi Gras; Massow Financial
Consultants; Sackville Park Project; The Trafford Centre; The Village
Project; the Village enterprises who have held fundraising events for this
project, and not least all the customers who have supported this project.

'The Beacon of Hope was designed by
Warren Chapman and Jesse Byrne-Daniel.'


'THE TREE OF LIFE
This TREE was planted by the Lord Mayor and
the Lady Mayoress on behalf of the
Village charity, in memory of those lost to
HIV / AIDS

                                            World AIDS day 1st December 1993
________________________________________

'This area surrounding the TREE was improved
in the summer of 2000 as part of the
BEACON OF HOPE project.'
à

2 comments:

  1. The Plashing Vole18 July 2011 at 13:12

    It's one of the most moving memorials I know. And I especially like its placement between the city's gay quarter (though I'm not sure he'd have been entirely comfortable with its more exuberant outlets) and the universities: both sides of him remembered.

    One unconfirmed rumour is that Apple's name/logo is a quiet tribute to Turing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr Tony Shaw18 July 2011 at 15:04

    Thanks for this - it is indeed a striking piece of work.

    Interesting about the possible derivation of Apple, too.

    ReplyDelete