Chevalière d’Éon

Chevalière d’Éon (October 5th, 1728 – May 21st, 1810): Born in France in a time where LGBTQ+ lives, let alone rights, were rarely (if ever) discussed or thought of, d’Éon was well-known for their androgynous features, which served them well in their career as a spy during the Seven Years’ War. Though they lived as a man for the beginning half of their life and pursued the stereotypical “masculine” occupations available at the time, they served their country in wartime and peace as both a soldier and spy (it is alleged that they presented as a woman to infiltrate the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia to pass state secrets, though this is debated by historians). Granted a post as captain of dragoons and an annual pension by King Louis XV for their service, political infighting eventually led to their exile to England, where they began living as their inner known truth of being a woman. Upon return to France years later, d’Eon fought to be recognized as a woman, claiming that they had been assigned female at birth and raised as a boy because female children could not inherit (so to keep generational wealth). This request was permitted by King Louis XVI with a settlement to include a budget for women’s clothing, an annual pension, and for d’Eon to only dress as a woman moving forward. This was short-lived, however, as the French Revolution ended d’Eon’s means of support, and they died in poverty. Their legacy lives on here and in the hearts of anyone who knows that Trans history is not an invention of modernity. #LGTBQIA #YouCannotEraseUs #LegendsOfPride