KNOWhomo

LGBTQ* People In History (of Great Importance)

The “Einstein of Sex”: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld

14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld was a scholar, physician, sexologist, and arguably the first outspoken gay and transgender activist in modern history. 

Why he rocks?

Hirschfeld’s Accomplishments:

1. Jewish gay* identified doctor, fought to end Paragraph 175 in Germany ( a law that made homosexuality punishable by law)

2. Founding member of Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee(WhK) ( English: The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee), which acted advocacy group to many underrepresented individuals (including the queer* population).

3. Led the FIRST congress for sexual reform

4. Co-wrote and acted in the 1919 film Anders als die Andem  (“Different From the Others”)

5. Created a way of cataloging identities, 64 of them, outside of “gay/lesbian,” including many ways to identify oneself outside of cisgender identification. Hirschfeld is one of the earliest scholars and advocates for the transgender community in Western culture. 

6. Created the Institute for Sexual Research, which became a safe haven for queer* individuals in Berlin

7. Joined the Bund für Mutterschutz (League for the Protection of Mothers), fighting for women’s equality and the decriminalization of abortions

8. Lost his entire library and most of his life work to the Nazi party but was able to flee and save his life (and rumored to have saved a few others). Nazi soldiers burned the entire institution’s contents on May 6, 1933 (80 years ago this month).

Imagine what the world might be if we still had all of his notes and the stories of hundreds of queer* identified and trans* identified individuals.

1. (Photo Source:Magnus Hirschfeld)
2. (Photo Source 2/3: International Sexological Congresses)
3. (Photo Source: Institute for Sexology)
4. (Photo Source: Nazis burning Hirschfeld’s Institute’s contents)

LGBTQ* People You Should Know

Mangus Hirshfeld 

“The Einstein of Sex”