80 More Gays Around the World: Part 17) Going South

Last time of “80 More Gays”: 44) Jack Larson (1928-2015) was the co-star of the 1950s television series about Superman, who was revitalised with the 1978 film for which 34) Neal Pozner (1955-1994) designed a promotional magazine before redesigning Aquaman, a superhero from Atlantis whose supernatural culture was a vital influence on the Theosophical belief of 46) Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854-1934), and a continent that was proven not to exist in the Atlantic by geomagnetic evidence provided by 47) Allan Cox (1926-1987).

47) Allan Cox is one of the scientists who proved that continental drift existed. Very few other scientists believed in it at the time, despite evidence dating back 50 years. In an article I wrote back in 2013 called “Rock Solid Couple” I mentioned that Allan Cox was lucky to be mentored by one of the few scientists in the 1950s who believed in continental drift. Looking back on that article I don’t think I properly explained the process, but Allan proved that the changing magnetism preserved in rock proved that the earth’s crust was splitting apart. Once scientists began to realise that Allan and other continental drift supporters might be on to something they began research into plate tectonics.

Before Cox published his research palaeontologists had long recognised that fossils of the same species of animal were found on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Originally they believed there was an ancient intercontinental landmass over which the animals travelled which had long since been submerged, not unlike Atlantis (thus science suggesting its possible existence).

The evidence of plant species evolving on continents that may once have been connected was suggested by a British botanist called 48) Elke Mackenzie (1911-1990). Although not explicitly expressed Mackenzie noted that the same species of lichens existed on different continents in her 1942 doctoral thesis which dealt with lichens from the Antarctic and South Atlantic. Her massive contribution to the study of lichens is marked in the botanical names of several species that are named after her, including Buella lambii and Verrucaria Mackenzie-lambii.

You’ll notice that these species are called “lambii”. This is because they were named before Elke began to transition to female in 1971. She was baptised Ivan Mackenzie Lamb. During her career Elke was Assistant Keeper at the British Natural History Museum, Professor of Cryptogamic (i.e. spore-reproducing) Botany at the National Institute of Tucumán (Argentina), and Director of the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard, among other appointments. Elke retired from her Harvard post in 1973 and turned to translating German botanical texts. She died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1983.

Elke’s work on lichens could fill several articles but it is her Antarctic studies which takes us on our next path of connections.

During World War II there were fears that Nazi u-boats were targeting shipping in the southern hemisphere. The British government were also worried that there were signs that neutral Argentina was sending ships to uninhabited South Atlantic islands that were recognised in international law as British territories.

The British response was to launch a secret expedition to reassert British sovereignty of those territories, disguising it behind a real scientific research expedition called Operation Tabarin. The ship had a crew of 27 Canadian Arctic seaman, and among the handful of scientists was botanist Elke Mackenzie. Once in the South Atlantic Operation Tabarin proceeded to establish bases on several islands to deter Argentine settlement, carrying out their scientific research all the time. Elke wrote a book about the operation and her part it in called “The Secret South”.

Operation Tabarin succeeded in deterring Argentinian reprisals for the time being, but once the war was over Argentina and Chile signed a defence agreement over Antarctic land claims. From Operation Tabarin came the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, now called the British Antarctic Survey.

Antarctica (the continental ice shelf) showing the disputed territories. The area within the pie segment is the British Antarctic Territory. The area in pink is the region claimed by Chile, and area in red in claimed by both Chile and Argentina

Those of us who live in the UK are constantly aware of the dispute over territorial claims in the South Atlantic, most famously over the Falkland Islands, or Malvinas as the South Americans call them. The legal and historical roots of this dispute are themselves debated, and I won’t go into them here. But the dispute is very much alive. Just seven weeks ago the Argentine government proposed new measures to protect and enforce their territorial claims to the Falklands and British South Atlantic and Antarctic possessions. One of the initiatives is the establishing of a National Advisory Council of Malvinas Policy. A member of that council is the current provincial governor whose area covers the Falklands/Malvinas, Argentina’s first openly gay governor 49) Gustavo Mellela (b.1970).

Gustavo Mellela’s full title (in English) is Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the Southern Atlantic Islands. Although this province is the least populated in Argentina it covers the largest area, the majority of it being in the Atlantic Ocean. Its Antarctic territory covers most of the British Antarctic Territory (the rest is claimed by Chile, who also claims most of the Argentine territory).

Gustavo is not the first openly gay governor in that particular part of the world. In 2016-17 the Commissioner (governor) of the British Antarctic Territory was John Kittmer, also openly gay.

Gustavo Melella was elected Governor of Tierra del Fuego in June 2019, taking up office in December. He didn’t run for office as an openly gay candidate, and came out publicly shortly afterwards. He had previously been Mayor of Rio Grande.

I don’t think Gustavo has a very high opinion of us Brits. In 2014 when he was Mayor of Rio Grande he signed a twinning agreement with Algeciras, the city which faces Gibraltar across the Bay of Gibraltar. Now, I’m sure you’re aware that Gibraltar is another British possession. In a very undiplomatic move Gustavo signed the twinning agreement on the anniversary of the 1982 Argentine occupation of the Falklands.

Until Gustavo came out publicly a year ago the most recent openly gay provincial or state governor was the Governor of Colorado in the USA, 50) Jared Polis (b.1975).

Next time on “80 More Gays”: We discover that being in the governor’s mansion is truly iconic, which leads us to some really smashing Byzantines.

Connections 40 : It's In The Can

On this day in 1978 the BBC broadcast the first programme in a series called “Connections”. This had a remarkable effect on me. It gave me a glimpse into the way that history, culture and technology are all linked. I still have the Radio Times tv listings cover promoting the series (above). I had just left full-time education that summer, and had never been really academically minded. “Connections” changed that.

Regular readers will know I’m well into the second half of my own version of “Connections” called “Around the World in Another 80 Gays”. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Connections” I’ve written this separate article as a self-contained chain of links which begins with a member of the lgbt community. It's adapted from research I did over 20 years ago – before Google, and before I had internet access – all researched using books.

There’s much in the news about plastic waste. Recycling waste has always been an issue in the modern world. When I was young the materials that we were most persuaded to recycle were paper, glass and aluminium drinks cans.

Even though aluminium is the most abundant metallic element on earth’s surface it doesn’t occur naturally. Most of it is locked up in clay-earth mineral ore. Today the biggest source of aluminium ore is bauxite, a mineral first identified by Pierre Berthier (1782-1861 (below).

Berthier (who died in Paris, as mentioned here), was a leading geologist and discovered that clay minerals near the French town of Les Baux were rich in this aluminium ore, which be named after it. With other aluminium-rich clay minerals bauxite was used in the manufacture of a highly popular imitation of a luxury earthenware called fiaence.

Italian fiaence became fashionable with the French aristocracy during the reign of King Louis XIV (1638-1715) because it replaced the luxury item that was rapidly disappearing – silver tableware. The reason for this was because silver was being melted down to help King Louis pay for the War of the Spanish Succession.

The war began after the king of Spain died. His successor and nephew was also a grandson of King Louis XIV. Europe was appalled at this turn of events because between them King Louis and the new King of Spain would own the majority of the American continent. It was the source of the European economy at the time, which was run by an early example of an international currency – silver pieces of eight made in Spanish America. Europe wanted to stop the kings of France and Spain from controlling this American silver trade.

South American silver-producing colonists wanted luxury goods from Europe in return for their silver. Since most luxury goods came from the east – silver, spices and porcelain – the colonists decided to get it direct (and cheaper) from Asia and established the trans-Pacific trade routes.

Fortunately, there was a market in Asia desperate for silver, and that was the Ming dynasty in China. China was rapidly running out of their own silver because they were using it to prop up their main currency which was being devalued through inflation. What was this other currency that caused the demand for American silver in China? It was paper money.

The Chinese had invented paper money and the woodblock printing that produced it. Through the Silk Road the Europeans were introduced to both, but rather than print money the Europeans began producing highly popular manuscripts and books with woodblock illustrations. In an effort to produce finer illustrations woodblocks were replaced with metal plates and engravings.

The Italians produced the best engraved illustrations, particularly one man called Marcantonio Raimondi (c.1480-c.1534). Unfortunately, he was imprisoned for producing pornography with his illustrated book on the sex lives of the gods. A toned down version of this book was produced by Rosso Florentino (1495-1540), who founded the Fontainbleau School. This school led a renaissance of French art and influenced a group of poets called La Péiade.

La Pléiade aimed to combine poetry with music, but one of their followers, Jacques Gohory (1520-1576), wanted to include philosophy and nature. To this end he created a garden in which poets could sit for inspiration. He also used the garden to experiment into the medicinal uses of plants.

This idea was taken up by King Louis XIII of France (1601-1643), who created his own garden for medical research, the Jardin des Plantes, still a popular tourist site in Paris today. The Jardin soon became a leader in medical research. One scientist working there was Christopher Glaser (c.1615-c.1672). He was the King’s Apothecary, but he was imprisoned for supplying arsenic to the serial killer Marie, the Marquise de Brinvilliers (c.1630-1676).

Arsenic was a popular poison because it was undetectable at that time. However, a later French serial killer, Marie, Madame Lafarge (1816-1851), was sent to the guillotine because proof of arsenic in human tissue was produced at her trial by chemist Matthieu Orfila (1787-1953).

Orfila is called the Father of Forensic Toxicology. Very soon many chemists were flocking to Paris to study this new science, including Sir Robert Christison (1797-1882). He published an article in the British Medical Journal in which he described experiments with a new plant from America called Erythroxylum which he said was invigorating if eaten.

An American pharmacist, John S. Pemberton (1831-1858), read Sir Robert’s article and began making a tonic drink from Erythroxylum syrup. He sold his tonic formula to Asa Griggs Candler (1851-1929) who marketed it so well that it’s still one of the biggest-selling products in the world today.

The tonic drink was named after the plant it was made from. The plant’s full botanical name is Erythroxylum coca. Pemberton’s drink was called Coca Cola.

I hope you recycle your aluminium drinks can. If it wasn’t for a gay French geologist discovering bauxite aluminium would still be a rare precious metal and not a common waste product.

City Pride : Gay Paris

The 10th Gay Games begin in Paris tomorrow. To celebrate let’s have a look at some of the city’s lgbt heritage. If you’re in the city for the games, or even plan to visit in the future, these glimpses into Gay Paris present just a small selection of its vast lgbt history. I’ll not cover the most obvious tourist attractions and sites but those that are less noticeable.

The map below gives a very simplified lay-out of the city. With a proper city map you’ll be able to home in more precisely on the sites I’ve chosen. I’ll give the current address of sites to make things a little easier. You don’t have to visit each site in numerical order.

First of all, there is the Parisian “gay quarter”, Le Marais (in orange on the map). This district has been a gathering place for many diverse and bohemian communities over the last century. From the 1980s the lgbt community has been making a more visible presence, and today it is claimed that 40% of lgbt businesses in Paris are based in Le Marais. It is also one of the most untouched areas of the city and still contains many historical buildings and streets.

1) No. 102, The Champs Élysées : This is the site of the terror attack of 20th April 2017. Three policemen were shot, one of whom, Xavier Jugelé, died. He was an active member of the French police lgbt group, Flag! Xavier’s civil partner, Étienne Cardiles, gave a moving eulogy at the national ceremony to honour him. Xavier was awarded a posthumous Legion d’Honneur, and he and Étienne were allowed to marry posthumously, France being a country where this is possible in special circumstances.

2) The Hôtel Regina : On 26th March 1903 the British war hero Sir Hector Macdonald was staying at this hotel. He went down into the hotel lounge after breakfast to read the newspapers. The New York Herald ran a front page story of him being charged with homosexual offences. Sir Hector then returned to his room and shot himself. Sir Hector was a massive hero in the UK and his suicide came as a shock to the nation, partly because they were unaware of the charges against him. It is believed that he is the army officer who still depicted on the label of Camp Coffee in the UK.

3) The Gay Memorial Stone : The intersection of Rue Montorgueil and Rue Bachaumont was the site of the arrest in 1750 of Bruno Lenoir and Jean Diot, the last men to be executed in France for homosexuality. They were strangled and burnt to death in front of the Hôtel de Ville (see no. 6).

4) The Museum of the Legion d’Honneur : Many lgbt people have been awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest honour. Among them are Xavier Jugelé (see no.1), artist Louise Abbéma and tennis player Amélie Mauresmo. International lgbt recipients have included Giorgio Armani, Lawrence of Arabia, Eleanor Roosevelt and Father Mychal Judge (9/11 victim, awarded posthumously).

5) Natalie Barney’s Salon : 20 Rue Jacob. US writer Natalie Barney (1876-1972) lived at this address for over 60 years. Many famous writers and artists flooded to her home every week to socialise and exchange views.

6) Hôtel de Ville : This will be the main social point for athletes at the Gay Games – the “athlete’s village”. Many events are planned to be held in the main square, including the start and finish of the International Rainbow Memorial Run (see below). This is also the site of the last execution of gay men in France (see no.3). The building is Paris’s city hall and the offices of its mayor. Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris 2001-14, was one of the few openly gay mayors of a national capital.

7) Convent of the Abbaye-aux-Bois : On the junction of Rue de Four and Boulevard Raspail the now-demolished convent was the home of a “lady boarder”, the enigmatic Henriette Jenny Savalette de Langes (d.1858). She claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of a Marquis and received favours from the French royal family. She also lived at several addresses in Le Marais (see above). After she died it was discovered that she was a man.

8) The Condé Cluster : This is my name for several locations on or near the site of the old Condé Palace which was split up into lots in 1779. The Condé Palace, or Hôtel Condé, was named after members of the French royal Family. It was the city residence of Prince Louis II de Bourbon, Duke of Condé, (1621-1686), the owner of the Condé Diamond, and I’ll write more about him later in the year.

Among the servants of the Condé family was the mother of the infamous Marquis de Sade, who was born in the palace.

The Théâtre de l’Odéon was built in 1782. Many lgbt singers, musicians, actors and performers have appeared here.

Pierre Berthier (1782-1861), geologist, lived and died at 2 Rue Crébillon. He discovered the mineral bauxite (the main source of aluminium) and invented stainless steel. He was put on the list of homosexuals kept by the police. For his scientific work Pierre was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, and is the only gay man of the 72 who are commemorated on the Eiffel Tower. Berthier’s home is currently the location of the publishers Bartillat.

The original Shakespeare and Company bookstore (see no. 9) was located at 12 Rue de l’Odéon and is commemorated with a wall plaque. It lasted until the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1941.

9) Shakespeare and Company : No. 37 Rue de la Bûcherie. The original bookshop was created by Sylvia Beach in the Rue de l’Odeon (see no. 8). This present bookshop was named in honour of the original in 1964. Both bookshops have been meeting places for many lgbt and bohemian writer and artists, including Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein and Allen Ginsberg.

Paris Pride Marches (Marche des Fiertés)
1977 : The first official Paris Pride march took place on 25th June 1977. Lgbt groups had taken part in previous annual marches organised by trade unions, but in 1977 they organised their own independent march. Around 400 people took part.

2018 : The route of the most recent march on 30th June 2018 was highlighted in rainbow colours on Google maps for several weeks beforehand. You may like to pause in the area around the Louvre. Much of what you see is the work of architects Pierre Fontaine (1762-1853) and Charles Percier (1764-1838), who were very probably a gay couple. They invented the distinctive Imperial style for Napoleon (I’ll mention Fontaine again in a couple of days).

International Rainbow Memorial Run – 4 August 2018
The Memorial Run was created in 1984 in memory of AIDS victims and, in more recent years, breast cancer victims. More information is in my 2014 article here. The 2018 Run takes places tomorrow (Saturday 4th August). It begins outside the Hôtel de Ville at about 10.40 a.m.



UPDATE : Less than a week after I wrote this article in which I mention the plaque commemorating the last two men executed for homosexuality in France, and this happens. There’s some very stupid people out there.