Alan Turing – mathematician, computer scientist (1912-1954)

Alan Turing is remembered for breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, which helped end the war earlier. He is also considered to be the forefather of modern computer science. He faced profound discrimination due to his homosexuality and his life ended tragically.  Alan Turing represents an important LGBT historical figure in science whom we honour in our portraiture.  The University of Oxford is one of the five founding universities of the Alan Turing Institute, the national institute for data science, located at the Oxford Internet Institute in St Giles, Oxford.

About Alan Turing:

• Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing: The Enigma. https://www.turing.org.uk/
• Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing: The Enigma. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. Available on SOLO http://tinyurl.com/bde9ub2p
• Racster, Christopher. Decoding Alan Turing. San Francisco, California, USA: Kanopy Streaming, 2015. Film. Available on SOLO. http://tinyurl.com/53advxue

Further resources:

• Turing, Dermot. Alan Turing Decoded: The Man They Called Prof. Cheltenham: The History Press, 2021. Available on SOLO http://tinyurl.com/ms7r7ccz
• Cooper, S. B. (S. Barry), and J. van (Jan) Leeuwen. Alan Turing: His Work and Impact. Amsterdam; Elsevier, 2013.  Available on SOLO http://tinyurl.com/52736vts
• Jacobson, R. (2014, November 28) 8 things you didn’t know about Alan Turing. Science https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/8-things-didnt-know-alan-turing
• How Alan Turing Cracked The Enigma Code. Imperial War Museums. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-alan-turing-cracked-the-enigma-code

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Maryam Mirzakhani – mathematician (1977-2017)

Maryam Mirzahkani is an inspiring Iranian mathematician who was the first woman to be awarded a Fields Medal.  The society for women and non-binary students studying mathematics at the university of Oxford bears her name.  Maryam visited Oxford in 2015 to meet the society and collect the Clay Mathematics Institute Research Award.

About Maryam Mirzakhani:

• Webb, J. (2014, August 12) First female winner for Fields maths medal.  BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28739373
• 2017, July 18). A tribute to Maryam Mirzakhani. American Mathematical Society. https://www.ams.org/profession/mirzakhani/

Further Resources:

• Jacobson, H. (2017,  July 29). The world has lost a great artist in mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani. The Guardian. http://tinyurl.com/382sw7uu
• O’Connor, John; Robertson, Edmund (August 2017). Maryam Mirzakhani. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Mirzakhani/
• About The Mirzakhani Society https://www.mirzakhanisociety.org.uk/about

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Alan Powell Goffe – pathologist (1920-1966)

About Alan Powell Goffe:

• Goffe, Gaia (July 2008) Between Two Worlds. BBC Caribbean.com https://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2008/07/080723_goffeongoffe.shtml
• Goffe, Gaia., and Judith. Goffe. Between Two Worlds:The Story of Black British Scientist Alan Goffe. London: Hansib, 2008. Available in SOLO http://tinyurl.com/2xetep7n

Further Resources:

• Edward, D.G. “Alan Powell Goffe. 9 July 1920-13 August 1966.” Journal of pathology and bacteriology 93.2 (1967): 729–734.  Available in SOLO http://tinyurl.com/yc6jdwed
• Obituary Notices. A.P.Goffe. British Medical Journal 2.531 (1966) https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.5512.531

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Mary Winearls Porter – crystallographer and geologist (1886-1980)

About Mary Winearls Porter:

• Rayner-Canham M., Rayner-Canham G. (2021) Polly Porter, Chrystallography Pioneer. Chemistry World https://www.chemistryworld.com/culture/polly-porter-crystallography-pioneer/4013486.article
• (September 2017) Mary “Polly” Winearls Porter Trowelblazers. https://trowelblazers.com/2017/09/19/mary-porter/

Further Resources:

• Price, M.T. The Corsi Collection in Oxford. Corsi Collection of Decorative Stones. http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/about/oxford

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald – physiologist and clinical pathologist (1872-1973)

About Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald: 

• The Mabel FitzGerald Archive, or an Extraordinary Woman (March 2019) . Archives and Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/2016/03/03/mabelfitzgerald_1/
• Mabel FitzGerald. Women in Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics.  Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/women-in-physiology-anatomy-genetics/mabel-fitzgerald

 Further Resources:

• Dill, D.B, Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald – our second centenarian. Physiologist 16, 247–248 (1973). Available in SOLO http://tinyurl.com/wvpefj3v
• Tissot Van Patot, Martha C. “Getting Lost in History: Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald and the Origins of Hydrochloric Acid in the Gastric Mucosa.” Function (Oxford, England) 2.6 (2021). Available in SOLO http://tinyurl.com/42tbed6b

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Jane Willis Kirkaldy – science educator (1869-1932)

About Jane Kirkaldy:

• More than a Dodo (April 2022). Re-collections: Jane Willis Kirkaldy. Museum of Natural History University of Oxford https://morethanadodo.com/2022/04/22/re-collections-jane-willis-kirkaldy/

Further Resources:

• Howarth, J. Principals and Tutors. University of Oxford Education Activism Women at Oxford: 1878-1920 https://www.firstwomenatoxford.ox.ac.uk/article/principals-and-tutors

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Anne Burns – aeronautical engineer and glider pilot (1915-2001)

About Anne Burns:

• Evans, H.  (2009, January 08). Burns [née Pellew], Anne (1915–2001), aeronautical engineer and glider pilot. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/75239
• Freudenberg, Matthew. (2009). Clear air turbulence: a life of Anne Burns. Charlton Publications. Available in SOLO https://tinyurl.com/4epwatsz

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

James Joseph Sylvester – mathematician (1814-1897)

About James Joseph Sylvester:

• Parshall, K.  (2004, September 23). Sylvester, James Joseph (1814–1897), mathematician. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/26872
• Cayley, A. Scientific Worthies: XXV—James Joseph Sylvester. Nature 39, 217–219 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/039217a0

Further Resources:

• Parshall, K. H. (2006). James Joseph Sylvester: Jewish mathematician in a Victorian world. Johns Hopkins University Press. Available in SOLO http://tinyurl.com/4h9wpbfz
• Higham, N. (2014). The life of James Joseph Sylvester. Nick Higham Applied Mathematics, Numerical Linear Algebra and Software https://nhigham.com/2014/09/03/the-life-of-james-joseph-sylvester/

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Christopher Strachey – computer scientist (1916-1975)

About Christopher Strachey:

• Lee, J.A.N. (2013). Computer Pioneers by J.A.N. Lee. Christopher Strachey.  IEEE Computer Society. https://history.computer.org/pioneers/strachey.html
• Campbell-Kelly, M. “Christopher Strachey, 1916-1975: A Biographical Note,” in Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 19-42, Jan.-March 1985 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4392962

 Further Resources:

• Strachey 100: an Oxford Computing Pioneer. University of Oxford Podcasts https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/strachey-100-oxford-computing-pioneer
• Maru, M. (June 2022). Pride Month: Christopher Strachey. Codeminers https://www.codeminers.co.uk/blog/pride-month-christopher-strachey/
• Papers and correspondence of Christopher Strachey. Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts https://archives.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/2561

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.

Robert Burton – scholar, writer (1577-1640)

About Robert Burton:

• Milton-Jenkins, Lola. (2023) Robert Burton – Pioneer of Men’s Mental Health PDF on Robert Burton by Lola Milton-Jenkins.
• Bamborough, J.  (2009, October 08). Burton, Robert (1577–1640), writer. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/4137

Further Resources:

• Melancholy: A New Anatomy – multidisciplinary exhibition reflects on 400 years of mental health therapies. (September 2021). Bodleian Libraries https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/media/melancholy-a-new-anatomy
• Melancholy A New Anatomy.  Bodleian Libraries https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/melancholy-new-anatomy

Find the full list of the pioneering members of the scientific community featured in our portraiture on our previous blog post.