80 Alan Turing Trivia Questions with Answers
80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Alan Turing trivia covers the mathematician’s foundational work in logic and computing, his wartime codebreaking, machine designs, university career, and enduring legacy. Questions range from the maiden surname of his mother, Ethel Sara, to the randomly connected machines described in Intelligent Machinery and the secure voice system he helped build with Donald Bayley.
The set suits computing students, history classrooms, science quizzes, and challenging pub-quiz rounds. It also explores Turing’s public memory, including the London suburb where he was born, the theorem in his King’s College dissertation, and the informal name for the UK’s posthumous pardoning legislation. Expect a blend of biography, mathematics, technology, and twentieth-century social history.
What did Turing call the randomly connected machine models in his 1948 report Intelligent Machinery?
Answer
unorganized machines
Which London suburb had the blue plaque marking Turing's birthplace?
Answer
Maida Vale
Which theorem did Turing prove in his 1935 King's College dissertation?
Answer
Central limit theorem
Which Cambridge fellowship did Turing win in 1935?
Answer
Fellow of King's College
Which essay won Alan Turing a Smith's Prize in 1936?
Answer
On the Gaussian Error Function
Which boarding school did Turing attend before Sherborne School?
Answer
Hazelhurst
Which naval cipher did Turing's Hut 8 mainly attack at Bletchley Park?
Answer
Naval Enigma
What was the first name of Alan Turing's mother?
Answer
Ethel
What is the surname of Alan Turing's father?
Answer
Turing
Which actor portrayed Alan Turing in the 1996 TV film Breaking the Code?
Answer
Derek Jacobi
Which British prime minister apologized publicly for Turing's treatment in 2009?
Answer
Gordon Brown
What nationality was Alan Turing?
Answer
British
In which English county is Bletchley Park located?
Answer
Buckinghamshire
Which university awarded Alan Turing his PhD in 1938?
Answer
Princeton University
In which country did Alan Turing earn his PhD?
Answer
United States
Who was Alan Turing's older brother?
Answer
John Turing
What was the name of the manual written by Alan Turing for the Manchester Mark I?
Answer
Programmers' Handbook for Manchester Electronic Computer
Where is the bronze statue of Alan Turing located?
Answer
Sackville Park, Manchester
Which association awards the Turing Award?
Answer
Association for Computing Machinery
What term did Alan Turing originally use for a Turing machine?
Answer
Automatic machine
What is the alternative name for the Turing test?
Answer
Imitation Game
On which British banknote does Alan Turing appear?
Answer
£50 note
What chemical caused Alan Turing's death?
Answer
Cyanide
Which Cambridge college was Alan Turing a fellow of?
Answer
King's College
What was the title of Alan Turing's 1952 paper on biological pattern formation?
Answer
The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis
What is the full title of Alan Turing's 1936 paper that introduced the Turing machine?
Answer
On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem
Which hypothesis states that any effectively calculable function is Turing machine computable?
Answer
Church–Turing thesis
What is the name of the UK's national institute for data science and AI named after Turing?
Answer
The Alan Turing Institute
In which London district was Alan Turing born?
Answer
Maida Vale
What is the name of the university building in Manchester named after Alan Turing?
Answer
Alan Turing Building
What was the name of Andrew Hodges' biography of Alan Turing?
Answer
Alan Turing: The Enigma
Alan Turing trivia — quick answers
What are good Alan Turing trivia questions?
Strong questions cover Turing’s biography, mathematical work, wartime service, machine designs, university appointments, secure communications, and legacy. Examples include the theorem in his King’s College dissertation, the name of his randomly connected machines, and the suburb where he was born.
How hard is Alan Turing trivia?
It ranges from moderate to difficult. Basic questions about computing and codebreaking are accessible, but specialist questions about Turing’s reports, mathematical results, secure voice equipment, and posthumous legal recognition require deeper historical knowledge.
What theorem did Turing prove in his 1935 King’s College dissertation?
Turing’s 1935 King’s College dissertation proved the central limit theorem under conditions weaker than those used in earlier formulations. The work helped establish his mathematical reputation before his later contributions to computability and theoretical computer science.
What was Turing’s mother’s maiden surname?
Alan Turing’s mother, Ethel Sara Turing, was born Ethel Sara Stoney. She came from a family connected with the British and Irish railway and engineering world, while Turing later became one of the central figures in modern computing history.
What was the informal name for the UK law pardoning men convicted under old anti-gay laws?
The informal name is the Alan Turing law. It refers to provisions in the United Kingdom’s Policing and Crime Act 2017 that posthumously pardoned men convicted under historical laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships, while also enabling certain living people to apply for disregards.