Kertbeny

Karl-Maria Kertbeny, commonly known simply as Kertbeny, was a 19th-century writer and early advocate for LGBT rights in the German-speaking and Austro-Hungarian world. Active in the 1860s and 1870s, he published essays and correspondence that engaged with questions of sexuality, law, and social attitudes toward same-sex love.

Kertbeny is widely credited with coining the terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual” in his writings from the late 1860s, introducing a language for describing sexual orientation that emphasized attraction rather than moral judgments or legal classifications. In his polemical and reformist work, he argued for a more neutral approach to sexuality and for reducing legal penalties related to consensual same-sex relations, seeking to frame sexuality as a matter of individual orientation rather than criminal behavior.

His contributions helped shape early debates in the emerging field of sexology and influenced later European reformers and scholars working on LGBT rights. While not as widely known as later figures in the movement, his linguistic and conceptual innovations provided a foundation for how sexuality would be discussed in medical, legal, and cultural contexts.

Scholars note that Kertbeny’s exact life details are less well documented than his ideas, and attribution of some early terms can vary among historians. Nevertheless, he is regarded as a pioneering figure in the origins of modern discussions about sexual orientation and rights in Europe.