Dora Richter
A pioneering figure in transgender history who underwent the first documented complete gender-affirmation surgeries under the care of Berlin's groundbreaking Institute for Sexual Research.
1892–1966 (age 74)·German trans woman·Birthday: April 16·The Lost Generation
Biography
Dora Richter's life is a testament to both personal courage and a fleeting moment of medical enlightenment. Living as a woman in early 20th-century Germany, she found refuge and recognition at Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin. There, she was not a subject but a participant in a compassionate, experimental process. Beginning with an orchidectomy in 1922, she became the first known person to undergo a complete series of surgical interventions, including a vaginoplasty, in her journey of physical transition. Working as a maid at the Institute, she was integrated into its daily life, a living example of its mission. The rise of the Nazis destroyed this sanctuary; the Institute was ransacked in 1933, and Richter's fate after this point, like so many records of that era, was tragically lost to history.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Dora was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dora Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Dora's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 40
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 50
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1952Turned 60
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1962Turned 70
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1966Died at 74
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
Key Achievements
- Recognized as the first known individual to undergo a complete male-to-female gender-affirmation surgery sequence, including vaginoplasty, in the early 1920s.
- Her case was meticulously documented by doctors at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, providing crucial early medical data.
- Lived and worked within Hirschfeld's institute, becoming an integral part of its community dedicated to sexual emancipation.
Did You Know?
Before her surgeries, she was arrested repeatedly for wearing women's clothing, under laws that criminalized cross-dressing.
She was referred to in medical literature of the time under the pseudonym 'Dörchen' Richter.
The surgeon who performed her pioneering operations was likely Ludwig Levy-Lenz, a gynecologist working with Hirschfeld.
“I am the first to have the complete operation.”
