LGBT rights in the 19th century

This is a list of important events relating to the LGBT community from 1801 to 1900. The earliest published studies of lesbian activity were written in the early 19th century.

1800s

1802

The French Republic annexes Piedmont, thus extending the French Penal Code of 1791 to the annexed territory.

1803

The last recorded state sanctioned execution for male same-sex sodomy occurs in the Batavian Commonwealth and continental Europe.^[1]

1807

One of the early known same-sex couples in American history, Vermont residents Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, begin their relationship.^[2] This couple is most strongly documented in historian Rachel Hope Cleves' 2014 book Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America.^[2]
The Duchy of Warsaw is created, re-legalizing same-sex sexual intercourse.^[3]

1809

The French Empire annexes the States of the Church, thus extending the Napoleonic Code to the annexed territory.

1810s

1811

The Netherlands abolished laws criminalizing homosexual conduct.^[4]
The French Empire annexes the German North Sea coast, thus extending the Napoleonic Code to the annexed territory.

1812

The French Empire annexes Catalonia, thus extending the Napoleonic Code to the annexed territory.

1813

The Kingdom of Bavaria abolishes laws criminalizing homosexual conduct between consenting adults.^[5]

1814

The term "crime against nature" first used in the criminal code in the United States.

1815

The Duchy of Warsaw is annexed between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Russian Empire, thus re-criminalizing same-sex sexual intercourse in Prussian annexed territory.^[3]

1820s

1822

The Dominican Republic decriminalizes homosexuality.^[6]
El Salvador decriminalizes homosexuality.^[7]

1824

28 October – The Marquis de Custine is beaten and left for dead after propositioning a male soldier in Saint-Denis. The scandal forces him out of the closet, but he recovers and lives the rest of his life as an open 'sodomite' with his partner Edward St. Barbe. Custine maintains a successful social life in Paris.^[8]

1830s

1830

Empire of Brazil decriminalizes homosexuality.^[9]

1832

The Russian Empire criminalizes muzhelozhstvo, which courts interpret to mean anal sex between men, under Article 995 of the criminal code. Men convicted were stripped of their legal rights and sent to Siberia for four to five years.^[10]
Bolivia decriminalizes homosexuality.^[11]

1835

For the first time in history, homosexuality becomes illegal in Congress Poland, Russian part of the Poland acquired after the Partitions of Poland after it became part of the Russian Empire.
The last known execution for homosexuality in Great Britain. James Pratt and John Smith are hanged at Newgate prison, London after being caught together in private lodgings^[12]

1840s

1840

Hannover abolishes laws criminalizing homosexual conduct between consenting adults.^[5]

1849

Leona Florentino was born in Spanish-colonized Philippines, beginning her literary career which would kickstart feminism against the Spanish-imposed patriarchy in the region and the writing of the archipelago's foundational lesbian literature.^[13]^[14]^[15]

1850s

1852

Portugal decriminalizes homosexual acts.^[16]

1853

Argentina decriminalizes homosexuality.

1856

The first known reference to lesbians in Mormon history occurred in 1856, when a Salt Lake man noted in his diary that a Mormon woman was "trying to seduce a young girl".^[17]

1858

The Ottoman Empire (predecessor of Turkey) decriminalizes homosexuality during its Tanzimat reform period.^[18]

1860s

1861

In England, the Offences against the Person Act 1861 is amended to remove the death sentence for "buggery" (which had not been used since 1836). The penalty became imprisonment from 10 years to life.

1865

San Marino decriminalizes homosexuality.

1867

29 August — Karl Heinrich Ulrichs became the first homosexual to speak out publicly in defence of homosexuality when he pleaded at the Congress of German Jurists in Munich for a resolution urging the repeal of anti-homosexual laws. He was shouted down. In an interview, Robert Beachy said "I think it is reasonable to describe [Ulrichs] as the first gay person to publicly out himself."^[19]

1869

A German pamphlet by the Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny (1824–1882), published anonymously,^[20] arguing against a Prussian anti-sodomy law contains the first known use of the word "homosexual" in print.^[21]
Homosexuality is decriminalised in Suriname.^[22]

1870s

1870

Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania is published, possibly the first American novel about a homosexual relationship.

1871

Homosexuality is criminalized throughout the German Empire by Paragraph 175 of the Reich Criminal Code. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality. The Nazis broadened the law in 1935; in the prosecutions that followed, thousands died in Nazi concentration camps. It was repealed on 10 March 1994.
Guatemala decriminalizes homosexuality.
Mexico decriminalizes homosexuality.

1880s

1880

The Empire of Japan decriminalized homosexual acts (anal sodomy), having only made them illegal during the early years of the Meiji Restoration
Paraguay decriminalizes homosexuality.

1885

In the United Kingdom, the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, whose Labouchere Amendment (Clause 11) outlaws oral sex between men—but not women—is given royal assent by Queen Victoria. A popular legend claims that Victoria struck references to lesbianism from the Act because of her refusal to believe that women "did such things"; in reality, they had simply never been mentioned in the Act. Clause 11 reads:

Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.

Buggery, or anal sex between men, was already illegal.

1886

We'wha, a lhamana of the Zuni tribe, begins a six-month stay in Washington, D.C., during which time they call upon President Grover Cleveland.^[23]
In England, the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, outlawing sexual relations between men (but not between women) is given royal assent by Queen Victoria.
Portugal re-criminalizes homosexual acts.

1889

The Cleveland Street Scandal erupts in England.

1890s

1890

Homosexuality is legalized in Italy through the creation of the Codice Zanardelli.
Homosexuality is legalized in the Vatican.^[24]

1892

The words "bisexual" and "heterosexual" are first used in English in their current senses in Charles Gilbert Chaddock's translation of Kraft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis.

1892

Popular, openly bisexual poet Edna St. Vincent Millay is born on 22 February.

1894

Biologist and pioneer of human sexuality Alfred Kinsey is born on 23 June.

1895

The trial of Oscar Wilde results in his being prosecuted under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 for "gross indecency" and sentenced to two years hard labor in prison.
In Brazil, Adolfo Caminha publishes his controversial novel Bom-Crioulo (in English:The Black Man and the Cabin Boy) with homosexuality at its center and with a Black man as the story's hero.

1897

December — Magnus Hirschfeld petitions the Reichstag to abolish Paragraph 175, the first salvo in a lifelong campaign for repeal.^[5]
George Cecil Ives organizes the first homosexual rights group in England, the Order of Chaeronea.

1899

Honduras decriminalizes homosexuality.^[25]

Notes

^ Pickett, Brent L. (2 September 2009). The A to Z of Homosexuality. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810870727 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "The improbable, 200-year-old story of one of America’s first same-sex ‘marriages’". The Washington Post, March 20, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Warsaw
^ Miller, p. 222
^ ^a ^b ^c Miller, p. 112
^ State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults Archived 17 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^ El Salvador Archived 14 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 23 August 2007.
^ Muhlstein, Anka. Trans. Teresa Waugh. (1996) A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine. Helen Marx Books.
^ 16 December 1830 Law (in Portuguese)
^ Miller, p. 201
^ STATE-SPONSORED HOMOPHOBIA A WORLD SURVEY OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION LAWS OF CRIMINALISATION, PROTECTION AND RECOGNITION
^ Galloway, Bruce (1984). Prejudice and Pride: Discrimination Against Gay People in Modern Britain. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7100-9916-7. The last known execution for buggery.
^ Blanton, S. (2016). A Threshold of Flowers: Public and Private Eroticism in the Poems of Leona Florentino. University of North Carolina.
^ Jolo, J. B. & Manansala, A. M. B. (2020). Courting the Gaze, Romancing the Margins: Queer Re-Orientation in Emiliana Kampilan’s Komix. Review of Women's Studies. University of the Philippines.
^ Mabanglo, R. E. (2020). Leona Florentino: Mother of Filipina poetry. Philippine Graphic.
^ "Sodomylaws.org". Sodomylaws.org. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
^ Gay & Lesbian Mormons Archived 24 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Affirmation. Retrieved on 30 November 2010.
^ Kazi, Tehmina (7 October 2011). "The Ottoman empire's secular history undermines sharia claims – Tehmina Kazi". The Guardian. London.
^ Stack, Liam (1 July 2020). "Overlooked No More: Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Pioneering Gay Activist".
^ "Kertbeny Coins "Homosexual"", GayHistory.com, retrieved 2007-09-07
^ Feray, Jean-Claude; Herzer, Manfred (1990). "Homosexual Studies and Politics in the 19th Century: Karl Maria Kertbeny". Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 19, No. 1.
^ "The Criminalization of Homosexuality in Colonial History, by Dr Joseph O'Mahoney | Gender History Research Cluster". blogs.reading.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
^ Miller, p. 29
^ "Legge N. VIII: Norme complementari in materia penale, 11 July 2013 (see Article 8(4) and Article 4(a) – for sex within marriage see Article 8(5))" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.
^ "State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults", The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, authored by Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, May 2012 ^{: page: 12 & 14} Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

References

Miller, Neil (1995). Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York, Vintage Books. ISBN 0-09-957691-0.

[The_A_to_Z_of_Homosexuality-1] Pickett, Brent L. (2 September 2009). The A to Z of Homosexuality. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810870727 – via Google Books.

[improbable-2] "The improbable, 200-year-old story of one of America’s first same-sex ‘marriages’". The Washington Post, March 20, 2015.

[Warsaw-3] Warsaw

[4] Miller, p. 222

[miller112-5] Miller, p. 112

[6] State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults Archived 17 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine

[7] El Salvador Archived 14 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 23 August 2007.

[8] Muhlstein, Anka. Trans. Teresa Waugh. (1996) A Taste for Freedom: The Life of Astolphe de Custine. Helen Marx Books.

[9] 16 December 1830 Law (in Portuguese)

[10] Miller, p. 201

[11] STATE-SPONSORED HOMOPHOBIA A WORLD SURVEY OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION LAWS OF CRIMINALISATION, PROTECTION AND RECOGNITION

[12] Galloway, Bruce (1984). Prejudice and Pride: Discrimination Against Gay People in Modern Britain. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-7100-9916-7. The last known execution for buggery.

[13] Blanton, S. (2016). A Threshold of Flowers: Public and Private Eroticism in the Poems of Leona Florentino. University of North Carolina.

[14] Jolo, J. B. & Manansala, A. M. B. (2020). Courting the Gaze, Romancing the Margins: Queer Re-Orientation in Emiliana Kampilan’s Komix. Review of Women's Studies. University of the Philippines.

[15] Mabanglo, R. E. (2020). Leona Florentino: Mother of Filipina poetry. Philippine Graphic.

[16] "Sodomylaws.org". Sodomylaws.org. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.

[affirmation.org-17] Gay & Lesbian Mormons Archived 24 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Affirmation. Retrieved on 30 November 2010.

[18] Kazi, Tehmina (7 October 2011). "The Ottoman empire's secular history undermines sharia claims – Tehmina Kazi". The Guardian. London.

[Stack-2020-19] Stack, Liam (1 July 2020). "Overlooked No More: Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Pioneering Gay Activist".

[gayhistory2-20] "Kertbeny Coins "Homosexual"", GayHistory.com, retrieved 2007-09-07

[21] Feray, Jean-Claude; Herzer, Manfred (1990). "Homosexual Studies and Politics in the 19th Century: Karl Maria Kertbeny". Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 19, No. 1.

[22] "The Criminalization of Homosexuality in Colonial History, by Dr Joseph O'Mahoney | Gender History Research Cluster". blogs.reading.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-08.

[23] Miller, p. 29

[24] "Legge N. VIII: Norme complementari in materia penale, 11 July 2013 (see Article 8(4) and Article 4(a) – for sex within marriage see Article 8(5))" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-15.

[25] "State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults", The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, authored by Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, May 2012 ^{: page: 12 & 14} Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

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LGBT rights in the 19th century

1800s

1802

1803

1807

1809

1810s

1811

1812

1813

1814

1815

1820s

1822

1824

1830s

1830

1832

1835

1840s

1840

1849

1850s

1852

1853

1856

1858

1860s

1861

1865

1867

1869

1870s

1870

1871

1880s

1880

1885

1886

1889

1890s

1890

1892

1892

1894

1895

1897

1899

See also

Notes

References