On this day in 1895, author Oscar Wilde was found guilty of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. At the time, Wilde was at the height of his career, having found success with novels and plays including The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband, and Lady Windermere’s Fan.
Wilde had been involved in a civil legal battle with the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie. Douglas’s father, the Marquess of Queensberry, confronted the pair about their relationship on many occasions. Matters escalated when he left a calling card at Wilde’s club inscribed “For Oscar Wilde, posing sodomite [sic]”. Wilde decided to take legal action, suing for defamation.
The trial became a cause celebre as details of Wilde’s private life were revealed in court. Queensberry employed private detectives who uncovered evidence of Wilde’s relationships with male sex workers. Facing this evidence, Wilde withdrew the action. The court found Queensberry not guilty, accepting his defense that the allegation was justified under the law of the time.
This led to Wilde being arrested and charged with gross indecency. The resulting criminal trials were reported internationally and brought unprecedented public attention to the criminalization of same-sex relationships in Britain. Wilde was found guilty, with the judge imposing the maximum sentence and stating that he wished he could have added more years. Justice Wills described the punishment as “totally inadequate for a case such as this” and referred to it as “the worst case I have ever tried”.
After serving two years in prison, Wilde was released and immediately left for France, never returning to England. He died three years later, having spent his final years in poverty and exile.
In 2017, Wilde received a posthumous pardon for his convictions. He was one of more than 50,000 British men pardoned under what is commonly known as the Alan Turing law.
Also on this day
Sir Ian McKellen is celebrating his 87th birthday. The award-winning actor is known for his many film appearances including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies where he played the wizard Gandalf. In the X-Men films he portrayed Magneto.
He also memorably appeared in And The Band Played On, More Tales of the City, Six Degrees of Separation, Apt Pupil, Mr Holmes, and The Good Liar.
This year Sir Ian has been back on stage performing in the play Player Kings in the West End and a UK tour.
Sir Ian chatted to OUTinPerth back in 2010 when he performed in Waiting for Godot at His Majesty’s Theatre. He’s also returned to played Magneto for the upcoming film Deadpool and Wolverine.
Comedian Julian Clary turns 67 today.
Australian TV host Graham Kennedy died on this day in 2005 aged 71, Kennedy never spoke publicly about his sexuality but his homosexuality was an open secret in the Australian entertainment industry.
Film producer Ismail Merchant died in 2005 aged 68, alongside his professional and domestic partner James Ivory they created many films under their Merchant Ivory banner including Heat and Dust, A Room with a View, Maurice, Howard’s End and Remains of the Day.
OIP Staff, this post was first published in 2020 and has been updated.
