The Turk was a chess-playing automaton created by Hungarian engineer Wolfgang von Kempelen in 1781. It toured Europe, captivating audiences by appearing to play deterministic games of chess against human opponents. The device, however, was a clever illusion, operated secretly by a hidden human chess master. The Turk's exhibitions popularized the idea of automatons and spurred interest in mechanical engineering, ultimately influencing the trajectory of automation technology and the nascent field of computing.