Standard Disclaimer: This page is a listing and links to news items regarding transgender persons from 1966. It is ordered by date of appearance in the news, not the date of the event. Note that the text summaries are not transcripts.
January 1, 1966. Seattle Daily Times, page 1
Lord Sempill of Scotland has died on December 31, and the British peerage is in a bit of a tizzy because the Lord had no children, and his only brother was formerly his sister. Ewan Forbes-Sempill was born Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill, but changed her sex legally in 1952.
October 18, 1966. Greensboro North Carolina Daily News, page A2
Richard C. Nelson, a father of 2 and traveling salesman, has asked a Pittsburgh court to allow him to change his name from Richard to Roberta.
November 21, 1966. Washington DC Evening Star, page A1
Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore has announced that it has performed two surgeries to change the sex of transgender women. The article contains some general information about how transsexuals are not (necessarily) homosexual, why we change our physical bodies, etc.
November 22, 1966. Washington DC Evening Star, page A1 and A6
In a follow-up to the November 21 article, the Washington Evening Star reports that two of the women transformed by surgery at Johns Hopkins are already brides-to-be. No names of the brides are given. The article is in two parts – part 1 is here, and part 2 here.
November 23, 1966. Washington DC Evening Star, page B3
A total of 6 or 8 sexual reassignment surgeries have been performed at Johns Hopkins hospital; this article is somewhat unclear on the final number.
December 1, 1966. Washington DC Evening Star, page A14
An editorial expounds upon the recent announcement by Johns Hopkins hospital to begin sexual reassignment surgeries of transgender persons, but largely from a negative standpoint. Boogeymen raised include whether transsexuals can ever be legally married, what happens if they try to compete in sports, as well as whether or not its correct to change our bodies to help our minds.
December 18, 1966. Cleveland Plain Dealer, page 11
Following in the footsteps of Johns Hopkins hospital, the University of Minnesota plans on conducting sexual reassignment surgeries. The University plans to conduct 20 surgeries over 10 years in order to study the long-term effects of surgery on transsexuals. The first surgery is due to start in two weeks.
