James G. Kiernan
James George Kiernan (18 June 1852 – 1 July 1923) was an American psychiatrist, prominent in American gay history for the first recorded use of the terms "heterosexual" and "homosexual" in 1892.
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Jonathan Ned Katz, historian of the American gay and lesbian experience, cites Kiernan's initial attribution of perversion to the term "heterosexual." Kiernan went on to write of a variety of topics, e.g. Mary MacLane's disciple Viola Larsen, who stole a horse and wrote romantic letters to other girls, as an example of child precocity and possible genius.[1]
Kiernan also notably testified in support of the insanity defense at the trial of Charles J. Guiteau, who assassinated President Garfield in 1881.[2]
Kiernan was born in New York and died at his home in Chicago.[2]
References
- Chamberlain, Jushua Lawrence (1902). New York University: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, With Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni. Boston: R. Herndon. p. 157. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- "NOTED ALIENIST DIES.; Dr. James G. Kiernan Was Expert for the Defense In Guiteau Trial". New York Times. July 3, 1923.
External links