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= Karl_Heinrich_Ulrichs =
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Introduction
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Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 - 14 July 1895) was a German
lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer. He is today regarded as a
pioneer of sexology and the modern gay rights movement. Ulrichs has
been described as the "first gay man in world history".
Early life
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Ulrichs was born in the East Frisian village of Westerfeld,
incorporated today within Aurich, which at the time was in the Kingdom
of Hanover. His father was an architect who died when Ulrichs was only
ten years old. After that he was brought up in Burgdorf by his
mother's family of Lutheran pastors. Ulrichs recalled that as a
youngster he felt different from other boys and was attracted by the
bright colors of military uniforms and women's clothing. In 1839, at
the age of fourteen, he experienced his first sexual encounter with
his riding instructor. He graduated in law and theology from Göttingen
University in 1846. From 1846 to 1848, he studied history at Friedrich
Wilhelm University in Berlin, writing a dissertation in Latin on the
Peace of Westphalia.
From 1849 to 1854, Ulrichs worked as a lawyer for the civil service in
the Kingdom of Hannover. Initially he worked as an official
administrative lawyer in various locations but did not enjoy the work
or thrive. He transferred to the court system in 1853 and joined the
bench as an assistant judge in the district court of Hildesheim. He
resigned on 30 November 1854 rather than face dismissal should a
possible blackmail attempt be made and his sexuality become common
knowledge.
Campaigner for sexual reform
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In 1862, Ulrichs took the momentous step of telling his family and
friends that he was, in his own words, an 'Urning', and began writing
under the pseudonym of "Numa Numantius". His first five pamphlets,
collected as 'Forschungen über das Rätsel der mannmännlichen Liebe'
('Studies on the Riddle of Male-Male Love'), explained such love as
natural and biological, summed up with the Latin phrase 'anima
muliebris virili corpore inclusa' (a female psyche confined in a male
body). In these essays, Ulrichs coined various terms to describe
different sexual orientations, including 'Urning' for a man who
desires men (English "Uranian"), and 'Dioning' for one who desires
women. These terms are in reference to a section of Plato's
'Symposium' in which two kinds of love are discussed, symbolised by an
Aphrodite who is born from a male (Uranos), and an Aphrodite who is
born from a female (Dione). Ulrichs also coined words for the female
counterparts ('Urningin' and 'Dioningin'), and for bisexuals and
intersex persons.
In the 1860s, Ulrichs moved around Germany, always writing and
publishing, and always in trouble with the law — though always for his
words rather than for sexual offences. In 1864, his books were
confiscated and banned by police in Saxony. Later the same thing
happened in Berlin, and his works were banned throughout Prussia.
Several of Ulrichs's more important works are back in print, both in
German and in translation.
Ulrichs was a patriotic Hanoverian, and when Prussia annexed Hanover
in 1866 he was briefly imprisoned for opposing Prussian rule and all
his papers were confiscated. Some of these papers were later found in
the Prussian state archives and published in 2004. On release, he
was forced into exile and left Hanover for good and moved to Würzburg
in Bavaria. From there, he attended the Association of German Jurists
in Munich where he wished to speak on the need to reform German laws
against homosexuality. His motion was banned by the presiding
committee, so he took the opportunity on the final day of the
conference to protest his exclusion. On 29 August 1867, Ulrichs became
the first homosexual to speak out publicly in defense of homosexuality
and though he was shouted down it appears that some in the audience
were stirred into support for his call. Ulrichs published his account
of the events in Munich as 'Gladius Furens', which he published under
his own name and distributed to all the lawyers who had attended the
event. In that pamphlet he wrote: Until my dying day I will look back
with pride that I found the courage to come face to face in battle
against the spectre which for time immemorial has been injecting
poison into me and into men of my nature. Many have been driven to
suicide because all their happiness in life was tainted. Indeed, I am
proud that I found the courage to deal the initial blow to the hydra
of public contempt. Thereafter, he began publishing his urning
pamphlets under his own name as an 'urning' apologist for the cause.
This makes Ulrichs quite distinct from any other writer on the subject
at that time and for some time after. In 1868, the Austrian writer
Karl-Maria Kertbeny coined the word "homosexual" in a letter to
Ulrichs, and from the 1870s the subject of sexual orientation (in
modern words) began to be widely discussed.
Later he moved to Stuttgart, where he cultivated silkworms for an
income but convened a weekly discussion at a restaurant on
Gymnasiumstrasse with other urning activists.
In 1879, Ulrichs published the twelfth and final pamphlet in his
series on man-manly love, 'Critische Pfeile'. Believing he had done
all he could in Germany, he went into self-imposed exile in Italy
shortly afterwards. For several years he travelled around the country
before settling in L'Aquila.
He continued to write prolifically and publish his works (in German
and Latin) at his own expense, notably a latin newspaper 'Alaudae',
which had a wide readership. In 1895, he received an honorary diploma
from the University of Naples. Shortly afterwards he died in L'Aquila.
His gravestone is marked (in Latin), "Exile and Pauper." His friend
and benefactor Marquis Niccolò Persichetti, gave the eulogy at his
funeral. At the end of his eulogy, he said:
Legacy
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Ulrichs distributed his pamphlets widely in a pamphleteering strategy
to lawyers and the medical authorities of his day. Karl Westphal,
quoted Ulrichs' writings in the first psychiatric paper on 'contrary
sexual feeling' and largely used Ulrichs' theoretical framework.
Ulrichs also corresponded for many years with the psychiatrist,
Richard von Krafft-Ebing, who later acknowledged in a letter to
Ulrichs that: From that day when you sent your writings - I believe it
was in 1866 - I have turned my full attention to this phenomenon,
which was just as puzzling as it was interesting to me; and it was
only the knowledge of your books which motivated me to study this
highly important area. Krafft-Ebing went on to publish 'Psychopathia
Sexualis,' arguably the foundational text in sexology. Ulrichs' huge
influence on the emerging fields of the sexual sciences was not his
only legacy though. When he first started publishing his pamphlets, he
received hundreds of letters from same sex attracted men, who began
calling themselves 'urnings'. So arguably Ulrichs' greatest legacy was
the dissemination of a sexual identity.
Forgotten for many years, Ulrichs later became something of a cult
figure in Europe in the late 1980s. There are streets named for him in
Munich, Bremen, Hanover, and Berlin. His birthday is marked each year
by a lively street party and poetry reading at
Karl-Heinrich-Ulrichs-Platz in Munich. The city of L'Aquila has
restored his grave and hosts the annual pilgrimage to the cemetery.
Later gay rights advocates were aware of their debt to Ulrichs. Magnus
Hirschfeld thoroughly referenced Ulrichs in his 'The Homosexuality of
Men and Women' (1914). Volkmar Sigusch called Ulrichs the "first gay
man in world history."
In Ulrichs' memory, the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association
presents a Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Award for distinguished contributions
to the advancement of sexual equality.
In an interview, Robert Beachy said "I think it is reasonable to
describe [Ulrichs] as the first gay person to publicly out himself."
Latin writer
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During his stay in Italy, he devoted himself, between 1889 and 1895,
to the international use of Latin with the publishing of the Latin
newspaper 'Alaudae', which was widely disseminated and made known many
European Latin poets of his time. This review found a suite, in 'Vox
Urbis: de litteris et bonis artibus commentarius' published twice
monthly by the architect and engineer Aristide Leonori between 1898
and 1913.
See also
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* List of civil rights leaders
* Paragraph 175
Works
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* 'Forschungen über das Rätsel der mannmännlichen Liebe' (Max Spohr,
1898; repr. Rosa Winkel, 1994)
* 'The Riddle of Man-Manly Love.' Trans. Michael Lombardi-Nash.
1864-1879; Prometheus Books, 1994.
*
Further reading
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*
*
*
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* H. Kennedy, 'Ulrichs The Life and Works of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs,
Pioneer of the Modern Gay Movement' (1988)
* M. Hirschler, "De Carolo Henrico Ulrichs qui magis fecit quam ut
revivisceret lingua Latina", 'Melissa. Folia perenni Latinitati
dicata', vol. 192, 2016, pp. 8-9.
*
*
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External links
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*
*
* [
https://www.theurnings.au/ Who were the urnings?]
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Heinrich_Ulrichs
