Oscar Wilde
Gays in the Media

The author of several highly acclaimed theatrical classics such as The Importance of Being Earnest and Salome, Wilde was a flamboyant man who paid dearly for his openess. Sodomy was a crime in his time period, and when Wilde attempted to sue the Marquess of Queensbury for libel, the Marquess brought in male prostitutes to testify that Wilde was a criminal sodomite. Wilde lost his case and was arrested and sentenced to two years hard labor. Poor prison conditions and intensive labor brought on severe illnesses and his eventual death in 1900.