glbtq: an encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & queer culture
home
arts
literature
social sciences
special features
discussion
about glbtq
   search
  
 
   Encyclopedia
   Discussion
 
 
   member name
  
   password
  
 
   
   Forgot Your Password?  
   
Not a Member Yet?  
   
JOIN TODAY. IT'S FREE!

 
 
  glbtq Books
  Advertising Opportunities

  Press Kit

  Permissions & Licensing

  Terms of Service

  Privacy Policy

  Copyright

 

 

Special Features Index  

 
Spotlight

Public Scandals Part 1

 
  Public Scandals Part 1 is the first installment in a three-part series. Use these links to view Part 2 or Part 3.  
 
 
 

Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers

 
 
 
 

The Execution of John AthertonJohn Atherton (1598-1640), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, was hanged for sodomy in Ireland under a law he helped institute. In Stuart England, Atherton's case became the subject of sermons and moral tracts that warned listeners and readers about the dangers of buggery.

 
 
 
  William BeckfordWilliam Beckford (1760-1844), one of England's wealthiest men, was ostracized by English society after his uncle published allegations of homosexual improprieties in morning newspapers in 1784.  
 
 
  Anthony Blunt (1907-1983) enjoyed close connections with England's royal family and a prestigious career as an art historian  until his participation in a communist spy ring during the 1950s was revealed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  
 
 
  Lord George Gordon ByronGeorge Gordon Lord Byron (1728-1824) was such a popular English poet and personality that his contemporaries coined "Byronomania" to describe the public's fascination with him. Byron's celebrity, however, was not enough to protect him when rumors of his homosexual inclinations became widespread. The scandal compelled him to leave England and never return.  
 
 
  Roger Casement (left) escorted by a policemanRoger Casement (1864-1916) was an Irish patriot who earned a knighthood before he joined the rebel movement fighting for the independence of Ireland. He was stripped of his knighthood and executed for treason by the British in 1916. The British used evidence of his homosexuality discovered in his diaries to further discredit him.  
 
 
  Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961), a one-time communist, accused former U.S. State Department official Alger Hiss of being a communist before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948. The aura of homosexuality that surrounded this case helped perpetuate the public perception that homosexuality and treason were linked, an idea that was a hallmark of McCarthyism.  
 
 
  Benvenuto CelliniBenvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, was convicted of homosexual sodomy in Florence in 1557. He escaped a prison sentence, but spent four years under house arrest.  
 
 
  Margaret Clap (fl. 1720s), also known as "Mother Clap," operated one of the more popular molly houses in London. After it was raided in 1726, she was pilloried and imprisoned.  
 
 
  Prince Albert VictorThe Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889, involving members of the English nobility and allegations of a government cover-up, fueled the perception of homosexuality as an aristocratic vice that corrupted working-class youths.  
 
 
  Photo Credits: Photograph of Whittaker Chambers by Fred Palumbo courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.  
 
 
 

 
  Newsletter
 

 
Sign up for glbtq's free newsletter to receive a spotlight on GLBT culture every month.
 

e-mail address



 
privacy policy
 unsubscribe

 
 
 

www.glbtq.com is produced by glbtq, Inc.,
1130 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL   60607 glbtq™ and its logo are trademarks of glbtq, Inc.
This site and its contents Copyright © 2002-2007, glbtq, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
Your use of this site indicates that you accept its Terms of Service.