Pioneer couple Cattle Annie with FTM partner nicknamed 'Lil Britches'
In every society FTM individuals have led distinguished and historically significant lives.
The Roman author Pliny reported female-to-male changes, one of which he witnessed. He stated, "transformation of females into males is not an idle story."
Roman author Martial wrote of an FTM who played sports and loved women. Lucian described the FTM Megilla who shaved his head and lived as "a man in every way."
Henri Estienne reported a mid-sixteenth century French FTM who was burned alive for successfully living as a man for many years, with a trade and a wife.
Montaigne also recorded a French FTM who lived as a man, learned a trade, then married a woman. Soon after, he was exposed by someone from his hometown who recognized him. He was offered the possibility of saving his life by returning to living as a woman. He preferred death.
English Mary Frith, alias Moll Cutpurse, who was born in London at the end of the sixteenth century, disliked women's clothing. As an adult, Frith lived as a man, a shoemaker, then later as a pickpocket. Frith claimed to be a hermaphrodite and dressed sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman, and sometimes as both. Frith is noted in popular literature of the time.
David Jans, born Martigen Jens in the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, tried to to join the army at sixteen, then went to work making silk thread. He earned much more as a man than a woman and soon became foreman. He enlisted in the army when he appeared older. David was discovered to be anatomically female during medical treatment in Africa when he was unable to prevent his clothing from being removed. He was just one of fifty-four recorded FTMs of the 1600s in the Netherlands; an unknown number more were able to live and die as men without incident.
Jan van Ant, born Maria van Antwerpen in Breda in 1719, enlisted in the army as a man. When the army was stationed in Breda, his hometown, someone recognized and reported him to the authorities. People wrote songs and a book about him. He again enlisted in the army, left for other work, and reenlisted for a third time. At age fifty, he was again reported and brought to court. He died in his hometown of Breda in 1781. In his autobiography and in the records from his trials, he said that he was a female in anatomy only and should have been a man. He wore men's undergarments when he was forced to dress as a woman. He was just one of fifty-six recorded FTMs of the 1700s in the Netherlands; an unknown number more were able to live and die as men without such a lifetime of persecution.
Catherine Vizzani of Italy, Ann Granjean of Spain and France (who may have been IS), Catherine Margaretha Linck of Germany and Deborah Sampson of the American colonies were other FTMs of the time.
Charlotte Charke played breeches roles in the theatre, having begun dressing as male at age four. Charke also dressed as a man in everyday life and courted women.
German Anastasius Lagrantinus Resenstengel, born Catharina Margaretha Linck, enlisted in the army as a man three times. He was executed for marrying a woman.
Frank Blunt's female anatomy came to light as the result of an arrest for theft.
Johann Burger was found to be anatomically female after having been arrested for 'abducting' his wife.
Milton Matson was exposed as anatomically female, after twenty-six years living as a man, when he was arrested.
Harry Gorman, a railroad employee, lived as a man for over twenty years, only to be found anatomically female after being admitted to the hospital for a broken limb. Gorman said he knew at least ten others who lived as men.
Charles Winslow Hall was an artist who lived as a man. Only two years after he began living as a man, he became ill while crossing the Atlantic with Mrs. Hall. Shortly before his death, his female anatomy was discovered by the doctor.
Katherine Vosbaugh, known as "Frenchy" and later as "Grandpa" during sixty years of living as a man, was identified as anatomically female after being hospitalized for pneumonia two years before his death.
Charley Wilson, born Catherine Coombes in 1834 in Britain, lived as a man over 40 years till he had to move into a facility for the elderly at age 63, where authorities forced him to dress as a woman.
Ray Leonard, born Rae Leonard in 1849, arrived in Lebanon Oregon in 1889 as the son of a shoemaker and, with his father's help, lived as a man. Ray took over his father's business. At age 70, Ray was found to be anatomically female during medical treatment for an illness, and died in 1921 at age 76.
Hiram Calder worked as a baker and lived as a man for thirty-five years and was discovered to be anatomically female only after his death.
Little Jo Monoghan, bronc buster, was discovered to be anatomically female by an undertaker.
Charles Durkee Parkhurst (born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst) drove a stage for thirty years and through the Gold Rush. When Charley's friends were dressing him in his best suit for his funeral he was discovered to be anatomically female.
A book about Charley
Countless FTMs lived successfully as men in every era and country before hormones and surgery. Most were never disclosed due to the loving care and protection of their families and friends who kept their confidential personal health information from unethical exploitation.
Ralph Kerwinieo, born Cora Anderson, lived as a man during the early years of the twentieth century. Kerwinieo was exposed as anatomically female in Milwaukee in 1914 by his second wife six months after their marriage. Kerwinieo had lived successfully as a man for thirteen years, including his first marriage.
Violette Morris dressed as a man during the early years of the twentieth century. Morris took the French Federation of Feminine Sports to court for one hundred thousand francs for a license to wear pants.
1907 Harry Benjamin meets Magnus Hirschfeld
1919 Magnus Hirschfeld founds the Institute in Berlin, Germany, the first clinic to serve trans on a regular basis.
1920 Johnathan Gilbert publishes the story of “H”, Dr. Alan Hart’s 1917 FTM transition.
1923 Magnus Hirschfeld coins the term “trans”
1931 Felix Abraham, M.D, publishes “Genital Reassignment of Two Male Trans”.
1932 Harry Benjamin arranges a speaking tour for Magnus Hirschfeld in the United States.
1932 Man into Woman the story of Lili Elbe’s life, MTF transition, and SRS is published.
1933 The Institute and its records is destroyed by the Nazis. Physicians and researchers flee. Magnus Hirschfeld dies in exile in 1935.
1938 Di-Ethyl Stilbestol (DES) introduced
1949 Harry Benjamin begins to treat trans in New York and San Francisco with Hormones.
1952 Christine Jorgensen is outed in the American Press
1966 Harry Benjamin Publishes the Trans Phenomenon
1968 Universities begin opening clinics for trans
1969 Sylvia Rivera throws a bottle and the Stonewall Riots begin.
1970 Angela Douglass attends the Peace and Freedom Party as an openly trans delegate and successfully introduces a protrans platform.
1974 Jan Morris publishes Conundrum
1976 Renee Richards is outed. Her work gets trans recognized in their new gender after surgery
1980 Joanna Clark organizes the ACLU Trans Rights Committee; Paul Walker organizes the HBIGDA
1986 Mr. Louis Graydon Sullivan founds Female-To-Male International
1987 FTM International Newsletter begins publication
1993 Cheryl Chase founds ISNA; first “Camp Trans”; Minnesota first state with trans discrimination protection laws
1996 JoAnne McNamara convinces Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry that trans is protected as a disability
Becoming a Man | Our Gender | Our Transition | How We Transition without Hormones and Surgery | How We Transtition with Hormones and Surgery | How We Transition Legally | Our Lives During and After Transition | Our Families
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