I went through 4 years of C.S. curriculum and learned what an incredible mind Turing had, so far ahead of his time. But I never once heard how he met his demise until I was wiki-surfing one day.<p>So for anybody else with professors that never indulged in the details of his persecution and death:<p>Turing was homosexual, living in an era when homosexuality was considered a mental illness and homosexual acts were illegal. Subsequent to his being outed, he was criminally prosecuted, which essentially ended his career. He died not long after from what was officially declared self-induced cyanide poisoning(a cyanide-laced apple) [wikipedia]