Christopher Morcom

Christopher Collan Morcom (13 July 1911 – 13 February 1930) was an English student known for being a childhood friend and the first love of Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science. Morcom was born to a wealthy family involved in the arts and sciences in Fockbury, Worcestershire; his mother was an artist and his father was an engineer. His maternal grandfather was Sir Joseph Swan, an inventor of the incandescent light bulb.

Morcom was educated at King's Mead School in Seaford, East Sussex, from 1922 to 1925, and Sherborne School in Dorset from 1925 to 1929. He excelled at Sherborne and was awarded several scholarships and prizes. In December 1929 he was awarded a scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, but died before he could begin his studies there.

At Sherborne Morcom met Turing, who also studied at the school. The two bonded over mathematics and science, with examples of topics they discussed including chemistry experiments, astronomy, iodised salt, the orbits of planets and the age of stars. Turing became infatuated with Morcom, leading to Morcom becoming what has been described as Turing's first love, but Morcom did not reciprocate. Their relationship is depicted in ''The Imitation Game'', a 2014 biographical film about Turing, but contains several inaccuracies.

At a young age Morcom contracted bovine tuberculosis after drinking infected cows' milk. He died from health conditions arising from the disease in 1930, at the age of 18. The death devastated Turing and some have speculated that it was the cause of Turing's atheism and materialism. In memory of Morcom, his mother commissioned a stained glass window, designed by the artist Karl Parsons, for a parish church in Catshill. It depicts Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child across a river on his shoulders; the face of the child was probably modelled after that of Morcom. The family also created the Christopher Morcom Science Prize at Sherborne School. Provided by Wikipedia