Hirschfeld, Magnus

(May 14, 1868, Kolberg [Kołobrzeg, Poland] – May 14, 1935, Nice), German doctor and sexual researcher. Hirschfeld is regarded as the pioneer of sexual research in Germany. One of his achievements was to outline a biological theory of homosexuality and he was a committed advocate of equal social rights for homosexuals. In 1897 he co-founded the Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Komitee (Scientific Humanitarian Committee) for the decriminalization of homosexuality and served as its first chairman until 1929. In 1907 he was an expert witness …