Description
Licenses to practice medicine and awards from medical groups for Dr. Harry Benjamin, 1915-1975. Benjamin was a clinical specialist
in transexualism and an advocate for transgender people.
Background
Dr. Harry Benjamin was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1885. He moved to New York in the 1920s and started a practice focusing
on endocrinology and gender identity. Up to the 1960s, he was the go-to person for transgender people seeking medical treatment
in the United States. Dr. Benjamin assisted Christine Jorgensen, Reed Erickson, Renée Richards, and numerous others to medically
alter their physiology. He also provided them and other transgender people with social and legal support. In the 1960s, Benjamin
helped establish the Harry Benjamin Foundation to assist transgender people in obtaining surgery. Benjamin retired in the
1970s and the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA) was named in his honor.
Extent
1.3 Linear Feet
1 archive flat box
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Availability
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.