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Meet Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, 'the first gay person to publicly out himself'

Why this source is used

Accessible news feature summarising Ulrichs' 1867 speech and its status as an early public coming-out moment.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer What happened to LGBTQ+ people under Nazi rule? Under Nazi rule, gay men and gender-nonconforming people were surveilled, prosecuted, imprisoned and in many cases sent to concentration camps under intensified Paragraph 175 enforcement. Read the topic guide Early Sexology and Nazi Persecution Early sexology and organised homosexual-rights advocacy in Germany were violently interrupted by Nazi persecution under Paragraph 175.

Source Status

Publisher
PinkNews
Type
news
Reliability
medium
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/10/11/karl-heinrich-ulrichs-gay-coming-out/ Accessed 5 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/10/11/karl-heinrich-ulrichs-gay-coming-out/

Used by Topics

Early Sexology and Nazi Persecution

Used by Questions

What happened to LGBTQ+ people under Nazi rule?

Used by Timeline Events

29 August 1867 ActivismLegalPeople

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs — First Known Public Coming Out

German lawyer and writer Karl Heinrich Ulrichs addressed the Congress of German Jurists in Munich, publicly arguing for the repeal of anti-homosexual laws — widely regarded as the first public 'coming out' in recorded history. He was shouted down before finishing his speech but continued writing and campaigning. He coined the term 'Urning' (Uranian) to describe same-sex attracted people and argued that homosexuality was natural and innate.