Alan Turing has been named the most iconic figure of the 20th Century, with the BBC honouring the inventor, who was instrumental in cracking Nazi codes during World War II.
Turing, who was later played by Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, was, due to his homosexuality. He is thought to have died by suicide.
Following the announcement, BBC broadcaster Chris Packham earned praise online for delivering a touching speech on Turing's contribution to the human race.
"For me, science is the art of understanding truth and beauty," Packham said. "But for Turing, mathematics alone encapsulated the search for that most honorable human grail: pure truth."
He continued: "Truthfully, he knew more than most. He defined the computer, he designed a computer. Faced with global catastrophe, he built a computer."
"A genius [and] a saviour," Packham added. "But he was also autistic and gay so we betrayed him and drove him to suicide.
"Shame."
In 2013, Turing was pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II for his 1952 conviction for having gay sex.
