Louis Crompton

Louis Crompton
Born	(1925-04-05)April 5, 1925 Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Died	July 11, 2009(2009-07-11)(aged 84) El Cerrito, California,U.S.
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Toronto
Academic work
Institutions	University of Nebraska

Louis Crompton(April 5, 1925 – July 11, 2009) was a Canadian scholar, professor, author, and pioneer in the instruction ofqueer studies.

Born toMaster MarinerClarence and Mabel Crompton, Crompton received an M.A. in mathematics from theUniversity of Torontoin 1948 and a Ph.D. in English from theUniversity of Chicagoin 1954. After teaching mathematics at theUniversity of British Columbiaand the University of Toronto,he joined the English department at theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincolnin 1955, retiring in 1989. During his career, he gained an international reputation as a scholar of the works ofGeorge Bernard Shaw.

In 1970, Crompton taught agay studiesclass at UNL, theProseminar in Homophile Studies,the second such course offered in the United States, an action that raisedLGBT awarenessin academia, Nebraska, and the nation. The course provoked one Nebraska state legislator into introducing a bill that would ban any teaching on homosexuality in any Nebraska public college; the bill was not passed into law.Crompton nevertheless decided not to offer the course again, but continued to pursue the subject through research and publication.

In the early 1970s, Crompton became the faculty advisor for the Gay Action Group, forerunner of today's UNL Queer Ally Coalition, and also helped found the UNL Homophobia Awareness Committee, which became the Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns. In 1974, Crompton co-founded with Dolores Noll (1930–2019) ofKent State Universityand others the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of theModern Language Association.

In 1978, Crompton scored a literary coup by editing and publishing in theJournal of Homosexualitythe full text of "Offences Against One's Self: Paederasty," a never-before published 1785 essay byutilitarianphilosopherJeremy Bentham.Bentham had suppressed the essay during his lifetime, for fear of public outrage at his views on liberalizing the laws concerning homosexual activity.

Crompton received many awards and honors during his career, including the Bonnie Zimmerman and Vern L. Bullough Prize of the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality award for 2003 for his bookHomosexuality and Civilization,which covers 2500 years of world history.

At the time of his death, Crompton, who had retired to California, was a professor emeritus of English at UNL. He was survived by his partner of forty years, Luis Diaz-Perdomo, also a former UNL faculty member who served many years with Counseling and Psychological Services at UNL and facilitated the Gay Men's Discussion Group.

In 2009, a scholarship was established at UNL in Crompton's name for students working toward "a more just, inclusive society for the LGBTQ community";the first award to a student was made in 2013.

Works

Books written by Crompton include:

• Shaw the Dramatist.University of Nebraska Press, 1969.ISBN0803200315
• Byron and Greek Love: Homophobia in 19th-century England.University of California Press, 1985.ISBN0520051726
• Homosexuality and Civilization.Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003.ISBN067401197X