Arnold Aletrino (1 April 1858 – 16 January 1916) was a Dutch physician, criminal anthropologist and writer, who published works on

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. He was a member of the

Tachtigers The Tachtigers ("Eightiers"), otherwise known as the Movement of Eighty (), were a radical and influential group of Dutch writers who developed a new approach in 19th-century Dutch literature. They interacted and worked together in Amsterdam fro ...

, a group of young and revolutionary Dutch authors, who despised the pious poetry and prose of the mid-nineteenth century Dutch Victorian writers.

Biography

Arnold Aletrino was born 1 April 1858 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to Salomon Aletrino and Selima Pineda. As a medical student, he befriended

Frederik van Eeden Frederik Willem van Eeden (3 April 1860, Haarlem – 16 June 1932, Bussum) was a late 19th-century and early 20th-century Dutch writer and psychiatrist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers and the Significs Group, and had top billing amo ...

, who was to be a well-known psychiatrist and one of the most famous Tachtigers. In 1892, he married Rachel Mendes da Costa, who committed suicide five years later. Later, he married Jupie van Stockum. Aletrino never had children. Aletrino published between 1889 and 1906 a few novels and collections of stories, all extremely bleak and cheerless in atmosphere. During this time, he worked as a medical doctor for the city of Amsterdam, especially for its firemen. In his final years, an incurably ill man, he lived with his wife in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Aletrino died 16 January 1916 in Chernex, Switzerland, near

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, aged 57.

Works

Aletrino had been schooled by

Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso ( , ; ; born Ezechia Marco Lombroso; 6 November 1835 – 19 October 1909) was an Italian eugenicist, criminologist, phrenologist, physician, and founder of the Italian school of criminology. He is considered the founder of m ...

, who attempted to explain criminality in light of a degenerating

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...

. Aletrino broke with Lombroso over

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

in a Dutch article in 1897, in which he claimed that homosexuality could occur in otherwise perfectly normal and healthy individuals. In later works he campaigned against the legal intolerance and prohibition of homosexuality in Europe. In 1901, he defended homosexuals at the Fifth Congress of Criminal Anthropology in

. He was accused of "defending immorality." He continued to fight throughout his life to engender a more tolerant and understanding attitude of homosexuality. In 1912, he participated in founding the Dutch branch of the

Scientific Humanitarian Committee The Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (, WhK) was founded by Magnus Hirschfeld in Berlin in May 1897, to campaign for social recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and against their legal Violence against LGBT people, pers ...

, which was first founded in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1897 by

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

pioneer

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...

Sources

* Hekma, Gert. "Aletrino, Arnold". ''Who's Who in Gay & Lesbian History. From Antiquity to World War II''. Robert Aldrich & Garry Wotherspoon (ed.), Routledge, 2001, p. 15. *Johansson, Warren. "Aletrino, Arnold".
''Encyclopedia of Homosexuality.''
Dynes, Wayne R. (ed.), Garland Publishing, 1990, p. 39. *Joosse, Kees. ''Arnold Aletrino: pessimist met perspectief''. Thomas Rap, 1986. Biography. 612 p. *Lieshout, Maurice van "Stiefkind der Natuur: Het Homobeeld bij Aletrino en Von Römer", ''Homojaarboek''. 1 (1981), p. 75-106. *Lieshout, Maurice van "Pendelen tussen wetenschap en moraal. Arnold Aletrino (1858-1916)", ''Pijlen van naamloze liefde. Pioniers van de homo-emancipatie''. Maurice van Lieshout & Hans Hafkamp (ed.), SUA, 1988, p. 83-88.
Joods Historisch Museum, Arnold Aletrino (Dutch)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aletrino, Arnold Dutch anthropologists Dutch Sephardi Jews LGBTQ Jews 1858 births 1916 deaths Medical writers on LGBTQ topics Writers from Amsterdam LGBTQ history in the Netherlands Dutch LGBTQ rights activists Dutch LGBTQ writers