This collection documents the professional and political life of David Rudolph Kessler, M.D. (born April 1, 1930 - died November 24, 2022). The collection contains a small amount of correspondence, speeches and lectures regarding homosexuality and psychiatry, materials relating to Dr. Kessler’s professional and political activities, and numerous subject files on the AIDS epidemic and other topics related to the LGBT community in San Francisco.

David R. Kessler, M.D. (born April 1, 1930 - died November 24, 2022) was the first elected president of the San Francisco-based gay doctors organization—Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (BAPHR). After completing his medical degree and residency at Yale, he served on the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School. He was also on the staff of the Langley-Porter Institute from 1962 until his retirement in 1986. Dr. Kessler was past president of the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the American Psychiatric Institute and served on the board of directors for the NAMES Project and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In 1991-1992 Dr. Kessler endowed the David R. Kessler Lecture award at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the City University of New York. Dr. Kessler's partner, Steven Del Re, died of complications from AIDS in 1986.

7 cartons (7 linear feet)

Collection is open for research. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications Commission (NHPRC) and the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).