John D'Emilio (born 1948) is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and of women's and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...

. He taught at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...

. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College and Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1982, where his advisor was

William Leuchtenburg William Edward Leuchtenburg (born September 28, 1922) is an American historian. He is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a leading scholar of the life and career of Fr ...

. He was a Guggenheim fellow in 1998 and

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

fellow in 1997 and also served as Director of the Policy Institute at the

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports ac ...

from 1995 to 1997. Jim Oleson, his partner since the early 1980s, died at their home in Chicago on April 4, 2015.

Honors and awards

D'Emilio was awarded the

Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow ...

in 1984 for his most widely cited book, ''Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities'', which is considered the definitive history of the U.S. homophile movement from 1940 to 1970. His biography of the civil-rights leader

Bayard Rustin Bayard Rustin (; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, ...

, ''Lost Prophet: Bayard Rustin and the Quest for Peace and Justice in America'', won the

Randy Shilts Award The Randy Shilts Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour works of non-fiction of relevance to the gay community. First presented in 1997, the award was named in memory of American journalist Randy Shilts. Winn ...

and the Stonewall Book Award for non-fiction in 2004. He was the 2005 recipient of the Brudner Prize at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. In 1999, D'Emilio was Honored with the David R Kessler award for LGBTQ Studies from CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies John D'Emilio and Judith Schwarz (48086175748)

John D'Emilio and Judith Schwarz (48086175748)

His and

Estelle Freedman Estelle Freedman (born 1947) is an American historian. She is the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History at Stanford University She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1969 and her Master of Arts (1972) and PhD ( ...

's book ''Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America'' was cited in Justice

Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...

's opinion in ''

Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as so ...

'', the 2003 American Supreme Court case overturning all remaining anti-sodomy laws. In 2005 D'Emilio was inducted into the

Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

. He received the

Bill Whitehead Award The Bill Whitehead Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour lifetime achievement by writers within the LGBT community. First presented in 1989, the award was named in honour of Bill Whitehead, an editor with ...

for Lifetime Achievement from

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards pro ...

in 2013.

Works

Author

*''Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities: The Making of a Homosexual Minority in the United States, 1940-1970'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983; 2nd edition, with a new preface and afterword, 1998) *''Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University'' (New York: Routledge, 1992) *''The World Turned: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and Culture'' (Durham: Duke University Press, 2002) *''Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin'' (New York: Free Press, 2003; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004) *''Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties'' (Durham: Duke University Press, 2022)

Co-author

*With Estelle Freedman, ''Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1988; 2nd expanded edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997; 3rd edition, 2012)

Editor

*''The Civil Rights Struggle: Leaders in Profile'' (New York: Facts-on-File, 1979), with an introduction *''The Universities and the Gay Experience: Proceedings of the Conference Sponsored by the Women and Men of the Gay Academic Union, November 23 and 24, 1973'' (New York: Gay Academic Union, 1974), with an introduction

Co-editor

*With William Turner and Urvashi Vaid, ''Creating Change: Sexuality, Public Policy and Civil Rights'' (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000)

Notes

External links

John D'Emilio collected papers
from th
Swarthmore College Peace CollectionNational Gay and Lesbian Task Force Records, 1973-2008
(279.6 cubic feet) are housed at the Cornell University Library. ''Contains the presidential files of John D'Emilio.''
Jonathan Ned Katz Papers, 1947-2004
(59.3 linear feet) are housed at the New York Public Library. ''Contains correspondence with John D'Emilio.''