Magnus Hirschfeld
(1868-1935)
Magnus Hirschfeld was born in Germany in 1868, the son of a prominent physician.
After extensive preparation at five universities, and several years of general practice, he became the first physician to specialize in psychosexual diseases. Later he helped establish the Medical Society for Sexual Science. In 1918, with many years of specialized practice behind him, Dr. Hirschfeld founded the famous Institute of Sexual Science, in Berlin. This was soon taken over by the government as the Magnus Hirschfeld Foundation.
In succeeding years the Institute was visited for research and study by thousands of physicians and scientists from all over the world. In connection with the same Institute, Dr. Hirschfeld proceeded to set up the first German Marriage Consultation Bureau, which became the pattern for similar institutions in many other countries. In addition to his other activities, Dr. Hirschfeld was medico-crimical expert of note, specializing in case that involved aberrations of the sexual instinct.
Between the years of 1921 and 1932, he called five meetings of the International Congress for Sexual Reform on Scientific Basis. The meetings were organized by the World League for Sexual Reform, and organization founded by Hirschfeld together with August Forel and Havelock Ellis.
A bibliography of Dr. Hirschfeld's writings includes more than two hundred titles.
Major Works of Magnus Hirschfeld
- The Sexual History of the World War (1946)
- Men and Women: The World Journey of a Sexologist (1974)
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