Alan Turing vs Chinua Achebe
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Alan Turing | Chinua Achebe | |
| Field | Art | Literature |
| Sub-field | Artist | Novelist |
| Born | 1912 | 1930 |
| Died | 1954 | 2013 |
| Country of birth | ENG | Colonial Nigeria |
| Star sign | Cancer | Scorpio |
Who they are
Alan Turing
Father of Computer Science Enigma codebreaker · Turing machine · Convicted for being gay · Posthumously pardoned Born June 23, 1912 · London, UK · Died June 7, 1954
Full biography of Alan Turing →
Chinua Achebe
Father of African Literature · Author of Things Fall Apart 20 million copies sold · 57 languages translated · Most widely read African novel in history Born November 16, 1930 · Ogidi, Nigeria · Died March 21, 2013
Full biography of Chinua Achebe →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Art for Alan Turing, Literature for Chinua Achebe.
- Born in different countries: ENG and Colonial Nigeria.
- 18 years separate their births (1912 and 1930).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Alan Turing or Chinua Achebe?
- Alan Turing. Alan Turing was born in 1912, Chinua Achebe in 1930.
- What field is each of them in?
- Alan Turing is filed under Art (Artist). Chinua Achebe is filed under Literature (Novelist).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.