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17 Transgender People Who Changed History
As the Trump administration and conservative state governments move to restrict the rights of transgender people and erase their history, it's important to remember that trans people have always existed. And not only have they always been here, but they've also made numerous contributions to society, as veterans, doctors, performers, activists, and more. Here are 17 of their fascinating stories, in order of their birth years:
Dr. James Barry, who lived from around 1795 to 1865, was an assistant staff surgeon in the British Army. He performed the first recorded successful caesarean in the British Empire, in which both the mother and infant survived.
Dr. Barry was born in Cork, Ireland. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1812 and graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1813. Afterward, he joined the British military, where he traveled to South Africa, Jamaica, Trinidad, and more. While in South Africa, Dr. Barry performed the aforementioned C-section, and the happy parents named their son James Barry Munnik in his honor. (Barry's name was passed down in the Munnik family, eventually being elevated to prime minister of the Union of South Africa with James Barry Munnik Hertzog.)He later rose to the rank of Inspector General of military hospitals in 1857. Dr. Barry advocated for access to clean water, humane treatments for people with leprosy, and improving diets and living conditions for soldiers. Dr. Barry was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London, under his chosen name and military rank.
Albert Cashier, who lived from 1843 to 1915, was a Union soldier who served under General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War.
Cashier was originally born in Ireland and made his way over to the United States, where he lived in Illinois before enlisting in the 95th Illinois Infantry after President Lincoln called for volunteers in 1862. After the war, he settled back in Illinois and worked as a handyman. After suffering a leg injury, doctors discovered that he was transgender, but kept his secret in order for him to maintain his military pension. Cashier was no longer able to work and moved into the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home. Later, as he began to show signs of dementia, he was moved to the Watertown State Hospital for the Insane. There, his secret was discovered again, and he was investigated for taking a pension under a false name. However, several of his former fellow soldiers in the 95th Regiment came to his defense to confirm his identity, and he was allowed to keep his home is now a historic site in Pontiac, Illinois.
Lili Elbe, who lived from 1882 to 1931, was a Danish landscape painter.
Elbe was one of the first women to undergo gender-affirming surgery in 1930. She received legal recognition from the Dutch government and even received a new passport under her chosen journals were published as part of a book, Man into Woman, which was also one of the first widely available books about a transgender person's life. A fictionalized version of her story is told in the film The Danish Girl.
Amelio Robles Ávila, who lived from 1889 to 1984, was a military commander during the Mexican Revolution.
At 23, Robles Ávila joined Emiliano Zapata's army and quickly rose to the rank of colonel. He commanded armies of up to 1,000 people and was later recognized in the Confederation of Veterans of the Revolution. After the war, he retired but remained a political activist for the rest of his life. Robles Ávila was the first person assigned female at birth to be recognized as a male veteran by the government in 1970.
Alan L. Hart, who lived from 1890 to 1962, was an American physician, tuberculosis researcher, writer, radiologist, and novelist who pioneered the use of X-ray photography in tuberculosis detection.
Hart was one of the first people to recognize that chest X-rays could be used to diagnose tuberculosis early, giving patients a higher chance at survival (and likely saving countless lives in the process). This also led to TB patients being separated from others, helping to reduce the spread of the also wrote multiple novels, including Dr. Mallory and The Undaunted, which describe the experience of life as a doctor as well as some of Hart's personal struggles as a trans man.
Billy Tipton, who lived from 1914 to 1989, was a jazz musician and bandleader.
Tipton began performing as a jazz musician in 1936 and started touring in 1940. He later founded the Billy Tipton Trio in 1951, which was discovered by a talent scout while playing in California. They were signed to Tops Records and released two albums. He later moved to Spokane, where he worked as a booking agent. There, he married his fifth wife, and they adopted three children together.
Roberta Cowell, who lived from 1918 to 2011, was a British World War II Spitfire pilot and a Grand Prix race car driver.
In her early life, Cowell had a knack for racing and was a mechanic. She later became a pilot in the Royal Air Force, battling through air sickness to do so. During World War II, her plane was shot down, and she spent time imprisoned in Germany in Stalag Luft I until it was liberated by Soviet troops. After the war, she built and raced cars, as well as renovated and resold homes to make a living. She was the first-known woman to undergo gender-affirming surgery in Great Britain.
Tamara Rees, who lived from 1924 to around 2000, was an American Paratrooper during World War II.
Rees wrote an account of her life, titled Reborn, which, along with Lili Elbe's story, was one of the first accounts of the life of a transgender woman. In it, she details her childhood, her experiences in early life joining and being discharged from the Navy, and finally ending up with the US Paratroopers. During World War II, she was awarded a Bronze Star. She later worked as a parachute instructor for the government, opened her own parachute school, and earned a pilot's license. She underwent gender-affirming surgery in the Netherlands in 1954 and then returned home to the US, where her family accepted her transition.
Angela Morley, who lived from 1924 to 2009, was an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated British composer.
Morely started her career as a performing musician, but later became a self-taught arranger and composer who worked on film and television projects such as Watership Down, Dallas, Dynasty, The Little Prince, and more. She also worked closely with John Williams on projects like Star Wars, Superman, and The Empire Strikes Back. Morely was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Academy Award. Over her career, she won three Emmy awards and was nominated for two Academy Awards.
Coccinelle, who lived from 1931 to 2006, was a French cabaret performer, an actress, and a singer.
Coccinelle, also known as Jacqueline-Charlotte Dufresnoy, underwent gender-affirming surgery in Morocco in 1958, and afterward, France legally recognized her as a woman. Her highly publicized first marriage in 1962 — though it required her to be rebaptized under her chosen name — was officially recognized in France, setting a legal precedent for transgender women to sang in lauded cabaret performances, starred in many successful films, and later founded "Devenir Femme" (To Become Woman) to support other transgender women who wanted to undergo gender-affirming surgery. She also helped establish the Center for Aid, Research, and Information for Transsexuality and Gender Identity, and published an autobiography, titled Coccinelle par Coccinelle.
Christine Jorgensen, who lived from 1926 to 1989, was an army veteran who became an American singer, actress, and recording artist.
Jorgensen served in the US Army and later became a successful actress and nightclub singer after her gender-affirming surgery in Denmark made headlines in the US. She also became a public speaker, where she lectured on trans issues and continued on to publish Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography, detailing her life and experiences as a transgender woman.
Renée Richards, born in 1934, is a former professional tennis player and eye surgeon.
In 1976, Richards won a lawsuit to allow her to play tennis in the Women's Tennis Association, where she went on to play women's tennis for five years. After retiring at the age of 47, she returned to her practice as an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon. She retired from surgery at age 80, but still practices ophthalmology today.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who was born in 1940, is a former showgirl and sex worker who became a transgender activist and author.
Griffin-Gracy, alongside Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, was at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. She was the executive director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project and spoke out in support of other transgender people of color who have experienced homelessness or have criminal records. Griffin-Gracy was part of a campaign to revise wording on a Stonewall plaque to add more inclusive language to honor trans women. She also created the House of gg, a sanctuary retreat for transgender people. The documentary MAJOR! was made about her life.
Marsha P. Johnson, who lived from 1945 to 1992, was a well-known activist, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly for unhoused youth and those affected by HIV and AIDS.
Johnson, along with Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, or STAR, which helped support young transgender people. She was one of the key figures in the Stonewall Uprising. She was also a performer with the drag ensemble "Hot Peaches" and even modeled for Andy Warhol. Several films have been made about Johnson's life, and a bronze bust of Johnson was erected in New York City in her honor.
Sylvia Rivera, who lived from 1951 to 2002, was an activist for LGBTQ+ rights and a drag queen.
Rivera cofounded the Gay Liberation Front, which developed a platform to advocate for gay rights and planned demonstrations. Along with Marsha P. Johnson, she was also part of the Stonewall Uprising and a founder of STAR. Shortly after her death, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project was founded to provide legal aid to trans, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people. A permanent monument featuring both Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson has been announced in New York City in 2019.
Sophie Wilson, born in 1957, helped develop the ARM processor, which is used in most consumer electronics.
Wilson began her career building early microcomputers for hobbyists and, along with Steve Furber, created the BBC Microcomputer, one of the first popular consumer computers in Britain. Later, the pair created the Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processor, an early version of which was used in multiple computers and devices, including Apple's processors are still in use today in many handheld devices like phones and tablets, including the Microsoft Surface, iPhones, iPads, the Nintendo Switch, Chromebooks, and more.
Andrea Jenkins, born in 1961, was the first openly trans Black woman elected to public office in the United States as a member of the Minneapolis City Council.
A former Vocational Counselor for the Hennepin County government, Jenkins holds two master's degrees and began as a policy aide and part of City Councilman Robert Lilligren's staff. She later worked as curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of 2017, Jenkins was elected as a Minneapolis City Council member, and in 2018, became the vice president of the city council. Her platform focuses on racial equity and economic development. She also founded Trans United Fund, a PAC that supports transgender candidates running for office.
Cecilia Chung, born in 1965, is an activist who has worked on the San Francisco health commission and was also appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS by President Obama.
Chung grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the United States in 1984. She worked as deputy director of the Transgender Law Center and the HIV program coordinator for the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. She is the first transgender woman and first person living openly with HIV to chair the San Francisco Human Rights created programming for San Francisco Department of Public Health employees called Transgender 101 to help educate them on trans issues. Chung also helped make San Francisco the first city in the United States to pay for gender-affirming surgery for uninsured transgender patients.
And finally, Geraldine Roman, born in 1967, is a journalist and politician and the first-ever transgender person elected to the Philippines' House of Representatives.
Roman won 62% of the vote in her election to become the Representative of Bataan's 1st District. She pushed for the passage of a bill called SOGIE to prohibit discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation, which passed in 2017, and continues to push for the passage of a bill legalizing same-sex civil has continually advocated for women and gender equality, veterans, and progressive causes.
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