Fact or Fiction

I was told on Friday, by a colleague, that the APPLE logo had a particular significance. She had learned of this at a course on Bullying and the story that had been shared was used to illustrate or reinforce the impact of homophobic bullying.

There are many reasons and stories told about the origins of the Apple logo. The best person to hear the actual origins from is Rob Janoff, the designer of the logo. The interview with Rob Janoff is here.

The story I was told referred to Alan Turing ?The Founder of Computer Science?. He is recognised for many works, not least the ?Turing-Welchman Bombe? which was so vital in cracking the coded messages of the Luftwaffe during World War 2. Turing?s work at Bletchley Park, in HUT 8, was crucial to the war.

Well after the War, in 1952, Turing was arrested, and put on trial in March of that year. His crime - his homosexual relationship with a young man from Manchester. Turing escaped prison, but only on the basis of accepting 'chemical castration' through the injection of oestrogen on a regular basis for a year.

Turing's homosexuality also meant that, by 1953 and as a result of the Cold War, his high level security clearance was rescinded.

The sad end to the tale is that he was found by his cleaner when she came in on 8 June 1954. He had died the day before of cyanide poisoning, a half-eaten apple beside his bed. His mother believed he had accidentally ingested cyanide from his fingers after an amateur chemistry experiment, but it is more credible that he had successfully contrived his death to allow her alone to believe this. The coroner's verdict was suicide.

And so, the story, which is according to Rob Janoff, nothing more than urban myth, is that the Apple Logo is a 'nod' or acknowledgement to Alan Turing, the apple representing the poisoned apple which it appears he took his own life with. It is also told that the original Striped apple had incorporated the Rainbow Flag which is often associated with the Gay and Lesbian communities around the world, to acknowledge Turing's homosexuality.

Even though it isn't apparently true, everytime I see the logo now I will think about that story. That such a brilliant man ultimately took his life as a result of who he was, in a time when anything other than heterosexuality was considered criminal, is actually very distressing. I actually think that it would be good if the logo WAS what the urban myth suggests - I think that would be a fitting tribute that such an iconic symbol could represent such a great man.

Yet, even today, the world is not the open and accepting place that many of us think it should be.

I thank my friend for sharing the story, because it made me go and find out about the man, and the logo, and I have learned a lot as a result.

Alan Turing - official biography