Transgender writer, historian, and prolific author Jan Morris passed away last night, on Trans Day of Remembrance, at age 94. She’s absolute legend. Her 1974 autobiography, Conundrum, was one of the first first-person narratives of transitioning. Her life was beyond incredible and deserves more recognition beyond her transition. Here are a few highlights:
- In the span of 46 years, she authored at least 45(!) books. These included Booker Prize-shortlisted novels, 8 memoirs, 6 history books, and over 20 travel volumes!
- In 1953, age 26, she assisted in the first expedition that summited Mount Everest. She invented secret code to communicate with the climbers, who didn’t want their messages to be intercepted. Morris waited at base camp and was the first reporter to hear the news Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit.
- She fought against Fascists in World War II as part of the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers cavalry regiment. She later reported on the famous trial of Adolf Eichmann next to Hannah Arendt.
- She was nominated for and won dozens of awards. She held honorary doctorates from the University of Wales and the University of Glamorgan. She also received a CBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 1999, making her one of the first openly transgender people to receive the honor. In 2005, she won the Golden PEN Award, the highest award given to British writers by the PEN writer’s association.
- Her work and writing are survived by her wife, Elizabeth Tuckniss, and four children. She married Elizabeth in 1949, 71 years ago. She had to travel to Morocco in 1972 to get surgery because doctors in the UK refused to treat her unless she divorced Elizabeth. While they eventually divorced later, they were legally reunited when they entered a civil union in 2008.
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