Experts say no computer had previously met the artificial intelligence benchmark developed in 1950 by the mathematician, who said if a machine could not be told apart from a human, then it was "thinking".
If a computer is mistaken for a human more than 30% of the time during a series of five-minute keyboard conversations it passes the test.
Five machines were put through their paces at the Royal Society in London to see if they could fool people.
And the supercomputer Eugene Goostman, running a programme imitating a 13-year-old boy, managed to convince 33% of the judges it was human, organisers from the University of Reading said.
Among those tasked with separating the human and computer participants was the actor Robert Llewellyn, who played robot Kryten in the sci-fi comedy TV series Red Dwarf.
Computer pioneer Alan Turing developed the artificial intelligence test
Professor Kevin Warwick, from the university said: "In the field of artificial intelligence there is no more iconic and controversial milestone than the Turing Test.
"It is fitting that such an important landmark has been reached at the Royal Society in London, the home of British science and the scene of many great advances in human understanding over the centuries. This milestone will go down in history as one of the most exciting."
The successful machine was created by Russian-born Vladimir Veselov, who lives in the United States, and Ukrainian Eugene Demchenko who lives in Russia.
Mr Veselov said: "It's a remarkable achievement for us and we hope it boosts interest in artificial intelligence and chatbots.
"Eugene was 'born' in 2001. Our main idea was that he can claim that he knows anything, but his age also makes it perfectly reasonable that he doesn't know everything.
"We spent a lot of time developing a character with a believable personality."
Prof Warwick said there had been previous claims that the test was passed in similar competitions around the world.
"A true Turing Test does not set the questions or topics prior to the conversations," he said.
"We are therefore proud to declare that Alan Turing's test was passed for the first time."
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