Husband Eigil Axgil
Queer Places:
Centralhjørnet, Kattesundet 18, 1458 København K, Danimarca
Axel
Axgil (3 April 1915 – 29 October 2011) and Eigil
Axgil (24 April 1922 – 22 September 1995) were Danish gay activists and a
longtime couple. They were the first gay couple to enter into a registered
partnership anywhere in the world following Denmark's legalisation of same-sex
partnership registration in 1989, a landmark legislation which they were
instrumental in bringing about. They adopted the shared surname, Axgil, a
combination of their given names, as an expression of their commitment.
Axel, born Axel Lundahl-Madsen, and Eigil, born Eigil Eskildsen, inspired
by the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights, together with several friends,
founded F-48 or Forbundet af 1948 (The Association of 1948),
Denmark's first gay rights organization. By 1951, F-48's membership had grown
to 1,339 and there were branches in Sweden and Norway. In 1985, F-48 became
the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians (Landsforeningen for
Bøsser og Lesbiske, Forbundet af 1948 or LBL). The couple launched
a magazine, Vennen (The Friend).
In 1989, Denmark became the first nation in the world to recognize
registered partnerships for same-sex couples, nearly equal to (opposite-sex)
marriage. On 1 October 1989 the Axgils and 10 other Danish couples were
married by Tom Ahlberg, the deputy mayor of Copenhagen, in the city hall,
accompanied by worldwide media attention. The Axgils had been a couple for 40
years. In 2013, Axel Axgil was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31
Icons of the LGBT History Month.[1]
Eigil Axgil died on 22 September 1995 at the age of 73.
Axel Axgil died on 29 October 2011 at the age of 96.
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