Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen (; May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989), was an American actress, singer and transgender activist. She was a trans woman. She was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery.

Sex change surgery
In 1944, Jorgensen was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, she taught some classes and wanted to start a photography career. During this time, she learned about sex reassignment surgery and traveled to Europe, where in Copenhagen, Denmark, she got special permission to have the surgery in 1951. Her parents were supportive of the surgery.

In 1959 she announced her engagement to typist Howard J. Knox in Massapequa Park, New York. However, the couple were unable to get a marriage license, because Jorgensen's birth certificate had her as male. In a report about the broken engagement, The New York Times reported that Knox had lost his job in Washington, D.C. when his engagement to Jorgensen became known.

Her 1967 autobiography Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography sold almost 450,000 copies. Throughout her career, she gave lectures at colleges and universities about transexuality.

Death
Jorgensen died of bladder and lung cancer on May 3, 1989 in San Clemente, California at the age of 62.

References

Other websites

 BBC article about Christine Jorgensen, November 2012
 GLTBQ.com article: Christine Jorgensen
 Christine Jorgensen Website, with newsreel footage, songs, and other performances

 Christine Jorgensen , A Transsexual Media Sensation, Transgender Zone Media Archives.
 Christine Jorgensen Collection  at the Digital Transgender Archive

Category:1926 births
Category:1989 deaths
Category:Deaths from bladder cancer
Category:Deaths from lung cancer
Category:American photographers
Category:American LGBT rights activists
Category:LGBT academics
Category:LGBT actors
Category:LGBT singers
Category:American stage actors
Category:American movie actors
Category:Singers from New York City
Category:Actors from New York City
Category:Academics from New York City
Category:Transgender women
Category:Cancer deaths in California