Transgender History & Representation

These are historical figures who may have been gender non-conforming or even transgender as we would identify them today:

• Ashurbanipal (669-631 BCE). Assyrian king. There are some records claiming Ashurbanipal dressed and socialized as a woman. 

• Elagabalus (204-222 AD). Roman Emperor who was described by the historian Dio Cassius as having identified as a woman, asking to be addressed as Empress. 

• Saint Hilarion (291-371 AD). Christian Saint who is generally identified as male but stories also identify Hilarion as once being a sister and using she/her pronouns. 

• Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (1286-1328 AD). Medieval Jewish philosopher. Wrote a poem openly wishing to have been made as a woman. 

• King Henry III of France (1551-1589 AD). French monarch who reportedly frequently dressed in women's clothing and wanted to be referred to as her majesty.

• François-Timoléon de Choisy (1644-1724 AD). French author well-known for "cross-dressing".

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Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Figures and Places of History

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• Thomas(ine) Hall (1603-Unknown). English servant in colonial Virginia. 

• ​Chevalier d'Eon (1728-1810). French diplomat, spy, and soldier. 

• The Institute for Sexual Science (1919-1933). A health clinic in Berlin, Germany; which is often called the first trans clinic. Created by Dr. Magnus Hirshfeld in 1919, this clinic was targeted and destroyed by Nazis in 1933. 

• Lili Elbe (1882-1931). Trans woman who underwent gender-affirming surgery in 1930. One of the first to receive gender-affirming surgery. 

• Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886-1954). Socialite, chef, and hostess in Oxnard California. 

• Amelio Robles Ávila (1889-1984). Trans male colonel during the Mexican Revolution. 

• Dr. Alan Hart (1890-1962). Ground breaking radiologist who pioneered the use of x-ray photography in tuberculosis detection. 

• Louise Lawrence (1912-1976). Trans activist, artist, writer, and lecturer. 

• Billy Tipton (1914 - 1989). American jazz musician. 

• Dr. Michael Dillon (1915-1962). British physician who became the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty in 1946. 

• Willmer "Little Ax" Broadnax (1916-1992). Early 20th century gospel quartet singer. 

• Reed Erickson (1917-1992). Trans man whose philanthropic work contributed millions of dollars to the early LGBTQIA+ rights movement. 

• Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989). The first widely known transgender woman in the US. 

• Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (1940-Present). Feminist, queer rights activist who protested at Stonewall. The first Executive Director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project. 

• Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992). A Black trans woman who helped lead the LGBTQIA+ movement in New York City and acted as one of the leaders of the Stonewall Riots. 

• Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002): A Latine trans woman activist in New York City. A leader in the Stonewall Riots who co-founded the Gay Liberation Front. 

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Traces of Transgender, Third Gender, and Gender Non-Conforming Existence Throughout the World

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Even beyond these historical and cultural examples, there are many other examples of gender nonconforming individuals and cultures (such as the Amazons of Ancient Greece).​

• Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand: Each have commonly recognized communities of transgender people, with varying levels of acceptance. 

• Fa'afafine: A culture of Samoan transgender people highly accepted within Samoan society; existing as a third gender. ​

• Fakaleiti: A term for Tongan transgender people with a feminine gender expression; existing as a third gender. 

• Femminiello: A term for a transgender/third gender role in Neapolitan culture. 

• Gala: Androgynous or transgender priests of Inanna, a Sumerian goddess. Records suggest individuals who may have been (what we would now refer to as) trans women, nonbinary people, and/or gay men. There may have also been cisgender female gala priestesses. 

• Galli: A priestess of the Phrygian goddess Cybele, worshipped across peoples including ancient Rome. While they were eunuchs, historical accounts suggest they had feminine gender expressions and wished to be seen as women.

• Hiijra: A culture of transgender and intersex peoples who live in communities in the Indian subcontinent. 

• Māhū: A term used for third-gender people in Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures, with records dating back to 1789. 

• Muxe: Transgender people of the Zapotec cultures in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

• Two-spirit: A term used by some First Nation peoples to recognize this community of transgender people; existing as a third gender. 

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