Andrew Philip Hodges (; born 1949) is a British mathematician,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and emeritus senior research fellow at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorot ...

Education

Hodges was born in London in 1949 and educated at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £109 ...

where he was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1975 for research on

twistor theory In theoretical physics, twistor theory was proposed by Roger Penrose in 1967 as a possible path to quantum gravity and has evolved into a branch of theoretical and mathematical physics. Penrose proposed that twistor space should be the basic ar ...

supervised by Roger Penrose.

Career and research

Since the early 1970s, Hodges has worked on

, which is the approach to the problems of fundamental physics pioneered by Roger Penrose. He was also involved in the

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...

movement during this time. Hodges is best known as the author of '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'', the story of the British computer pioneer and codebreaker

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical co ...

. The book was critically acclaimed when it was published in 1983, with

Donald Michie Donald Michie (; 11 November 1923 – 7 July 2007) was a British researcher in artificial intelligence. During World War II, Michie worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, contributing to the effort to solve " Tunny ...

in '' New Scientist'' calling it "marvellous and faithful". In June 2002, it was chosen by

Michael Holroyd Sir Michael de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (born 27 August 1935) is an English biographer. Early life and education Holroyd was born in London, the son of Basil de Courcy Fraser Holroyd (a descendant of Sir George Sowley Holroyd, Justice of the Kin ...

for inclusion in a list of 50 'essential' books (available in print at the time) in '' The Guardian''. ''Alan Turing: The Enigma'' formed the basis of Hugh Whitemore's 1986 stageplay ''

Breaking the Code ''Breaking the Code'' is a 1986 play by Hugh Whitemore about British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in the breaking of the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park during World War II and a pioneer of computer science. The play t ...

'', which was adapted by for Television in 1996, with Derek Jacobi as Turing. The book was later made into the 2014 film ''

The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The film's title quotes the name of the game cr ...

'' directed by Morten Tyldum, starring

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Oli ...

. The script for ''The Imitation Game'' won Graham Moore an Oscar for

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

at the

87th Academy Awards The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...

in 2015. Hodges is also the author of works that popularise science and mathematics. He is an emeritus tutorial fellow in mathematics at

. Having taught at Wadham since 1986, Hodges was elected a Fellow in 2007, and was appointed

Dean of Wadham College This is a list of Wadham College, Oxford people, including alumni, Fellows, Deans and Wardens of the College. An alphabetical list of alumni of Wadham college can be found here. Alumni Academics * Martin Aitken, archaeometrist * Amir Attara ...

from start of the 2011/2012 academic year. In 2014 he joined the Pet Shop Boys on stage at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

for a standing ovation following the world premiere of ''A Man from the Future'' at The Proms.

Publications

* ''With Downcast Gays: Aspects of Homosexual Self-oppression'', * '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' Alan Turing: The Enigma Vintage edition 1992, first published by Burnett Books Ltd, 1983. * ''One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers''One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers Short Books, London, 2007.

References

1949 births Living people Writers from London Mathematicians from London English science writers English biographers British gay writers Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford LGBT writers from England Alan Turing 20th-century biographers {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub