23 June 2016
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Blue plaque photo courtesy of Joseph Birr-Pixton from en.wikipedia
Mathematical genius and computer pioneer Alan Turing was born on 23 June 1912; mechanical engineer and inventor Verena Holmes was born on 23 June 1889
Born on this day in history, 1912: English mathematical genius and computer pioneer Alan Turing, WW2 code-breaker of Bletchley Park. It has been estimated that Turing’s incredible work shortened the war in Europe by as many as four years. This blue plaque (pictured) is on his former home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where he died in 1954.
Also born on this day, in 1889, was Verena Holmes (died 20 February 1964), an English mechanical engineer and inventor. She was a founding member of the Women's Engineering Society in 1919 and was the first woman elected to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1924).
During WW2 Holmes worked on naval weaponry and trained women for munitions work. In 1946 she founded the engineering firm of Holmes and Leather, employing only women. Today the Women's Engineering Society supports lectures in her memory, and National Women in Engineering Day takes place on 23 June every year.