The new polymer £50 note featuring Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing will enter the hands of the public in June, the Bank of England has today revealed.
The banknote, featuring the World War II scientist, will be issued on June 23 2021, which coincides with his birthday, Threadneedle Street confirmed.
The new note will contain advanced security features as well as the mathematician's portrait.
Like the latest £20, it will incorporate two windows and a two-colour foil, making it very difficult to counterfeit, the Bank said.
It will also feature a hologram image which changes between the words Fifty and Pounds when tilting the note from side to side.
The edition will follow on from the new £5 note in 2016, £10 in 2017 and the most recent polymer £20.
Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing is best known for his invention of the Turing Machine, the algorithmic device that was later described as the first generation model of a computer.
He was instrumental in breaking the German Enigma code, leading to Allied victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. Historians believe Turing may have shortened the war by four years - saving tens of thousands of lives.
However. the scientist was persecuted after World War Two in 1952 because he was homosexual. He died two years later, and it was concluded that the cause was suicide by cyanide poisoning.
Almost 60 years later, in 2013, the mathematician was granted a posthumous royal pardon.
The new note will feature a photo of Turing taken in 1951 by Elliott & Fry, alongside a table of a mathematical formula.
Underneath the picture of Turing is a quote from him, saying: "This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be."
It will follow in the footsteps of the £20 design, which features a portrait of J.M.W Turner, also known as William Turner, a famous English painter who died in 1851.
Most recent figures suggest there are currently 344million paper £50 notes still in circulation, with a combined value of £17.2billion.
After release, paper £50 notes can continue to be used, although they will gradually be phased out of circulation.
The Bank of England (BoE) hasn't set a date for when the paper ones will be withdrawn yet, but has promised to give at least six months' notice.
Today’s announcement comes weeks after the Bank teased fans with a cryptic binary code message in a nod to Turing's work.
"The countdown has started. Can you guess what’s on its way?," the tweet read.
"#01000010010011110100010."
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said: "There's something of the character of a nation in its money, and were right to consider and celebrate the people on out banknotes.
"By placing him [Turing] on our new polymer £50 banknote, we are celebrating his achievements, and the values he symbolises."
Director of GCHQ Jeremy Fleming said the note is a "landmark moment" in history.
He said: "Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay.
"His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive."
The Bank had received 227,299 nominations from members of the public during a six-week nomination period which closed in December.
This led to a list of 989 eligible names of people who are real, dead and have contributed to science in the UK – with eighteenth century engineer Charles Babbage, and physicist Stephen Hawking among those shortlisted for the note.
