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.
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]
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.
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]