Archive for Sexology

Magnus Hirschfeld, the "Einstein of Sex", was the most important pioneer of sexology, mostly because of his energy and organizational ability. As a young physician in Berlin he founded the first "gay rights organization", the Scientific Humanitarian Committee (1897). In 1908, he published the first Journal for Sexology, and, in 1913, he co-founded the first sexological organization, the Medical Society for Sexology and Eugenics. In 1919, he opened the first Institute for Sexology, and in 1921, he organized the first international sexological congress. In 1928, he co-founded a World League for Sexual Reform with himself, Havelock Ellis, and Auguste Forel as presidents. Hirschfeld also wrote the first comprehensive textbook of sexology: "Geschlechtskunde", (Sexual Knowledge, 5 vols., 1926 - 1930). From 1930 - 1932 he travelled around the world, introducing the new science of sexology in public lectures from New York and San Francisco to Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila, Djakarta, Calcutta, Cairo, Tel Aviv, and Athens. In 1933, the Nazis plundered and closed his institute and burned his books. Unable to return to Germany, he died in French exile in Nice. For a list of Hirschfeld's writings, click here.

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