Gay rights pioneer Axel Axgil dies

Gay rights pioneer Axel Axgil dies, Gay rights pioneer Axel Axgil dies at 96, Axel Axgil, whose struggle for gay rights helped make Denmark the first country to legalize same-sex partnerships, has died. He was 96.

Danish gay rights group LGBT Danmark says Axgil died in a hospital in Copenhagen on Saturday following complications from a fall.Axgil, born Axel Lundahl-Madsen, was among the founders of the group in 1948.

On Oct. 1, 1989, he and his partner Eigil were among 11 couples who exchanged vows as Denmark became the first country to allow gays to enter civil unions. Eigil Axgil died in 1995. axel axgil dies, lgbt, axel axgil 96,

The men melded their first names into a new surname, Axgil, and used it in a public show of defiance.

In the 1950s, both were sentenced to short prison terms on pornography charges for running a gay modeling agency.

Source:philly