British mathematician Alan Turing is a legend in computer science, but he was vilified for being homosexual during his lifetime. Turing, who invented the computer program, helped crack the Nazi "enigma machine," bringing a more rapid resolution to World War Two, and saving countless lives. He was rewarded with prosecution.
When it was learned that he was homosexual, Turing was prosecuted, stripped of his security clearance and subjected to chemical castration. He killed himself two years later. The British government is now in the process of issuing a posthumous "pardon." It won't undue the harm that the bleak walls of a prison cell did to Turing, but it's the right thing to do to honor his genius, vision and contributions to the modern world.