Havelock Ellis
English sexual psychologist.
Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-authored the first English-language medical textbook on homosexuality, published in 1897, which treated same-sex love as neither a disease nor a crime. Ellis also developed the psychological concepts of narcissism and autoeroticism, which were later adopted by psychoanalysis. He was among the first researchers to investigate psychedelic drugs, publishing one of the earliest public accounts of a mescaline experience after experimenting on himself in 1896. Ellis supported eugenics and served as a vice-president of the Eugenics Society from 1909 to 1912. He studied what are now called transgender phenomena, coining the term “eonism” in 1920 to describe a category distinct from homosexuality, derived from the Chevalier d’Éon. Ellis proposed the term “sexo-aesthetic inversion” in 1913, disagreeing with Magnus Hirschfeld’s terminology for transvestism. He considered eonism a common anomaly, second in frequency only to homosexuality among sexual deviations, and linked it to a possible defective endocrine balance or a too-close attachment to the mother. Ellis also used literary examples from Balzac and French poets to frame his analysis of sexual inversion in women. In 1891, he married Edith Lees, an openly lesbian writer and women’s rights advocate, in an unconventional open marriage; Ellis reportedly suffered from impotence until age sixty, when he discovered arousal through a phenomenon he named “undinism.” After his wife’s death, he formed a relationship with Françoise Lafitte.
- born
- 2 February 1859
- died
- 8 July 1939
- field
- Sexology, psychology, eugenics
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- First English medical textbook on homosexuality; concepts of narcissism and auto
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Henry Havelock Ellis was an English physician, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-authored the first English-language medical textbook on homosexuality in 1897, a work that did not characterize same-sex love as a disease, immoral, or criminal. Ellis developed the psychological concepts of narcissism and autoeroticism, which were later expanded by psychoanalysis. He also investigated transgender psychology, coining the term *eonism* in 1920 to describe what he saw as a distinct phenomenon separate from homosexuality, and he considered it a common sexual variation. Ellis was among the early researchers of psychedelic drugs, publishing one of the first public accounts of a mescaline experience after experimenting on himself in 1896. He supported eugenics and served as a vice-president of the Eugenics Society. Ellis married Edith Lees in 1891; their marriage was unconventional and open, as Lees was openly lesbian. He reported suffering from impotence until age 60, when he discovered arousal through the sight of a woman urinating, a phenomenon he termed *undinism*.
Reader's Guide
Havelock Ellis was a pioneering figure in the scientific study of human sexuality. He co-authored the first English medical textbook on homosexuality, *Sexual Inversion*, which offered an objective analysis, neither characterizing same-sex attraction as a disease, immoral, nor a crime. Ellis developed the psychological concepts of autoeroticism and narcissism, terms later adopted by psychoanalysis. He also studied what are now considered transgender phenomena, coining the term "eonism" to describe a condition he viewed as separate from homosexuality and among the most common sexual deviations. Ellis was an early investigator of psychedelic drugs, conducting a self-experiment with mescaline in 1896 and publishing one of the first public reports on the experience. He supported eugenics, serving as a vice-president of the Eugenics Society. His personal life was unconventional; his open marriage to the lesbian writer Edith Lees was a central subject in his autobiography. Ellis’s work established foundational frameworks for modern sexology, influencing later writers such as Radclyffe Hall, who drew on his concept of the "sexual invert."
Did You Know?
- Havelock Ellis co-wrote the first English medical textbook on homosexuality in 1897.
- He developed the psychological concepts of narcissism and autoeroticism.
- Ellis studied transgender psychology.
- His work influenced writer Radclyffe Hall, who referred to herself as a sexual invert.
- Ellis was an English sexual psychologist.
More in Psychologists And Social Scientists 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record