Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was the first widely-known individual to have sex reassignment surgery—in this case, male to female.
Jorgensen was born George William Jorgensen, Jr., the second child of George William Jorgensen Sr., a carpenter and contractor, and his wife, the former Florence Davis Hansen. Jorgensen grew up in the Bronx and later described himself as having been a "frail, tow-headed, introverted little boy who r...
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Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was the first widely-known individual to have sex reassignment surgery—in this case, male to female.
Jorgensen was born George William Jorgensen, Jr., the second child of George William Jorgensen Sr., a carpenter and contractor, and his wife, the former Florence Davis Hansen. Jorgensen grew up in the Bronx and later described himself as having been a "frail, tow-headed, introverted little boy who ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games".
Jorgensen graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1945 and shortly thereafter was drafted into the Army.
After being discharged from the Army, Jorgensen attended Mohawk College in Utica, New York, the Progressive School of Photography in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School in New York City, New York. Jorgensen briefly worked for Pathé News.
Returning to New York after military service and increasingly concerned over (as one obituary called it)...
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