London (CNN Business) Alan Turing, a crack code-breaker and visionary mathematician who was convicted under Victorian-era homophobic laws, will be the face of Britain's new £50 note.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney announced Monday that Turing, who killed himself in 1954 after he was subjected to chemical castration, will appear on the new polymer note by the end of 2021.

In a statement, Carney lauded the Englishman as an "outstanding mathematician" and "a giant on whose shoulders so many now stand."

"As the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, as well as war hero, Alan Turing's contributions were far ranging and path breaking," the central banker said.

Turing is best known for his work at Bletchley Park, where UK cryptologists sought to decipher messages sent by the Nazis. His efforts to crack Germany's Enigma code remained a secret for decades but are now credited with saving thousands of lives and hastening the end of World War II. Turing was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game," a 2014 film on the subject.

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