Timeline of UK Transgender History

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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