Timeline of UK Transgender History

Transgender symbol

This is a Timeline of UK Transgender History. It is intended to cover the full range of trans life in the UK in the widest sense, including transgender, transvestism, intersex, etc...

Earlier centuries

• 850s – A woman from Wimborne Minster is supposedly elected Pope Joan.
• 1395 – John Rykener arrested for cross-dressing.
• 1682 – Arabella Hunt's marriage is dissolved as her husband is discovered to be a woman.
• 1766 – Princess Seraphina appears in court.
• 1766 – The Chevalier d'Éon (Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont), comes to live in England (until 1777, returning in 1785).
• 1834 – Birth of Catherine Coombes, who took the name Charley Wilson and lived for over 40 years as a man.
• 1865 – James Barry, army surgeon, dies and is allegedly found to have been a woman.
• 1871 – "Fanny" and "Stella" (Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park‎) acquitted of sodomy and cross-dressing.
• 1880 – The police raid a drag ball in Manchester.
• 1889 – Mary Mudge dies aged 85 and is found to have been a man.

20th century

• 1905 – Paul Downing found looking for his wife on Blackfriars Bridge, is discovered to be a woman, Caroline Brogden.
• 1920 – Havelock Ellis coins the term "Eonism" after the Chevalier d'Éon.
• 1951 – Roberta Cowell (previously Robert Cowell) has gender reassignment surgery and has her birth certificate changed from male to female.
• 1958 – Jonathan Ferguson (previously Irene Ferguson) publicly transitions from female to male.
• 1958 – Michael Dillon's trans history is exposed in the press.
• 1960 – April Ashley has gender reassignment surgery.
• 1960 – Georgina Turtle (previously George Turtle) has her birth certificate changed from male to female.
• 1966 – Founding of trans organisation the Beaumont Society.
• 1968 – the Home Secretary confirms that Sir Ewan Forbes is male and can succeed to the baronetcy, despite having been registered and originally brought up as female.
• 1971 – the Corbett v Corbett case, involving April Ashley, establishes the precedent that a person's sex could not legally be changed from what it was at birth.
• 1972 – release of trans-related film, I want what I want.
• 1972 – Composer Wally Stott becomes Angela Morley.
• 1972 - Jan Morris undergoes gender reassignment surgery in Morocco.
• 1979 – Founding of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, now the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
• 1984 – Founding of the Self Help Association for Transexuals (SHAFT).
• 1984 – Adèle Anderson joins Fascinating Aida.
• 1984 – The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is founded.
• 1989 – Rose's club founded.
• 1989 – the European Court of Human Rights rules that Caroline Cossey is entitled to be recognised as a woman.
• 1990 – the ECtHR decision in favour of Caroline Cossey is reversed on appeal.
• 1995 – Mermaids founded for children with gender dysphoria.
• 1998 – The fictional character Hayley Patterson (later Hayley Cropper) is introduced in Coronation Street, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh
• 1998 – Trans Day of Remembrance founded (in the USA; later in the UK and worldwide).

21st century

• 2001 - Transgender Conference held at the University of East Anglia, now a biennial event.
• 2004 – Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows people to legally change gender.
• 2005 – Stephen Whittle and Christine Burns receive OBE and MBE.
• 2005 – First Sparkle celebration in Manchester.
• 2005 – Transgender Europe founded.
• 2007 – Murder of Kellie Telesford.
• 2007 – Jenny Bailey elected Mayor of Cambridge
• 2008 – Stewards at London Pride tell Roz Kaveney she can't use the ladies'.
• 2009 – Murder of Andrea Waddell and Destiny Lauren.
• 2010 – Sarah Brown elected to Cambridge city council.
• 2010 – Bernard and Terry Reed receive OBEs.
• 2010 – Death of Sonia Burgess.
• 2011 – Barbara Ross receives an OBE for her work with trans people.
• 2011 – Death of Roberta Cowell (not made public until 2013).
• 2011 – Murder of Suzie Morl
• 2012 – Murder of Chrissie Azzopardi.
• 2012 – Jackie Green competes in Miss England.
• 2012 – Launch of Meta magazine, edited by Paris Lees.
• 2012 – Intersexion, about the lives of Intersex people, gets second prize in the Derek Oyston Film Award.
• 2012 – Luke Anderson wins Big Brother.
• 2013 – Suicide of Lucy Meadows following press harassment.
• 2013 – Death of Georgina Somerset (née Turtle).
• 2013 – First Trans Pride in Brighton.
• 2014 – Second Trans Pride Brighton includes the first trans pride march in Europe.
• 2015 – the Church of England's General Synod is to debate services to welcome trans people under their new names.

External links

• http://tghistory.org/ TG History. Dead link. archived at http://web.archive.org/web/20140114043028/http://tghistory.org/
• http://actionfortranshealth.org.uk/resources/for-activists/trans-history-for-lgbt-history-month-2/. "Short guide to UK trans history." Accessed: 2015-05-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6YCL17Dxu
• http://www.albertatrans.org/history.shtml. "Transgender: A History". Accessed: 2015-05-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6YCbzXi9i)
• http://transguys.com/features/ftm-trans-history. "FTM Trans History" Accessed: 2015-05-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6YCe7ybCM)

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