History of ONE, Incorporated

The following history of ONE, Incorporated was created by C. Todd White as a part of his doctoral dissertation in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Southern California. It was first published in 2004 as part of the website for the [Homosexual Information Center].

This timeline links to several primary documents, such as court documents, corporate minutes and records, and letters of resignation and corrospondence of several of the pioneers of the early movement for homosexual rights in the United States.

White’s book Pre-Gay L.A.: A Social History for the Movement for Homosexual Rights will be published by the University of Illinois Press in Spring, 2009, and it will discuss many of the documents linked to this part of OutHistory.org.

Significant Events in the History of ONE, Incorporated

1947

• June: “Lisa Ben” (an anagram for Lesbian) publishes Vice Versa: America’s Gayest Magazine, the first regularly published newsletter in the United States dedicated to homosexual issues. The newsletter was typewritten at her employer’s, RKO Studios in Los Angeles. Ben distributed 16 copies to friends such as Jim Kepner.

1948

• Alfred Kinsey et al.’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male is published, asserting that one in three American males had experienced some form of homosexual experience in their lifetime and that between four and eight per-cent were exclusively homosexual.
• February: final (ninth) issue of Vice Versa distributed.
• August: Harry Hay attends a beer bust near the University of Southern California campus, where the idea is sprung to start a political organization called “Bachelors for Wallace.” Upon returning home that night, Hay began his first draft of a prospectus to form an organization dedicated to the welfare of homosexuals.

1949

• Publication of NIal Kent’s The Divided Path.

1950

• Physique Pictorial magazine is first published, by Bob Mizer.
• (Future activist) Betty Berzon moves to Los Angeles.
• James Barr’s Quatrefoil published by Greenberg.
• President Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10450, citing “sexual perversions” as reasons for preventing homosexuals from being employed by the federal government.
• Nov 11: Harry Hay, Rudy Gernreich, Chuck Rowland, Dale Jennings, and Bob Hull meet at Harry Hay’s home in Silver Lake to discuss his Preliminary Concepts for unifying homosexuals into social action. The group meet again two days later, on Nov. 13th.
• Dec: A senate subcommittee issues a report stating that homosexuals working within the Federal government could be considered a threat to national security.
• Dec. 11: First organized discussion group of Hay’s secret society, which would later become known as Mattachine.

1951

• Jim Kepner moves to 2141 Baxter Street in Echo Park, where he is to reside for the next 21 years.
• Donald Webster Cory’s The Homosexual in America—A Subjective Approach is published by Greenberg.
• Fritz Peters’s novel Finistère is published by Farrar, Straus & Company.
• April: Lovers Konrad Stevens and James Gruber (christened collectively as “Stim” by Dale Jennings) join Harry Hay’s “Society of Fools.” The organization decides to call itself “Mattachine.” First Missions and Purposes of the Mattachine Society are written.
• June: Dorr Legg (known as Bill Lambert), Merton Bird, and others found Knights of the Clocks, an organization of interracial homosexuals.
• July 20: Missions and Purposes of the Mattachine Society are ratified.

1952

• Spring: Dale Jennings is arrested in his home for lewd conduct. Harry Hay and other Mattachine members creat the Citizens Committee to Outlaw Entrapment to raise funds for Jennings’s legal defence and to publicized the case.
• June 23: The trial of Dale Jennings begins and lasts for 10 days.
• Oct. 15 [We]: Mattachine Discussion Group held in home of Bill Lambert. Idea proposed to publish a magazine or newsletter pertaining to homosexuality.
  • ONE Inc. would continually celebrate its anniversary on Oct. 15 to commemorate this meeting.
  • Future ONE director Fred Frisbie recruited to join Mattachine.
• Oct. 22 [We]: Second meeting to discuss the publication of a periodical devoted to homosexual issues.
• Oct. 29 [We]: Third meeting to discuss the publication of a newsletter or magazine pertaining to homosexuality, at the home of attorney Fred Snider.
• Nov. 5 [We]: Fourth discussion meeting in the formation of a homosexual magazine. Attendees discuss and eliminate over 20 possible names. The BRIDGE and WEDGE are retained as possible choices.
• Nov. 15 [Sa]: ONE, Incorporated’s Articles of Incorporation signed in the law office of Eric Julber.
• Nov. 29 [Sa]: Meeting of Incorporation held in Martin Block’s Studio Bookshop. Motion adopted that a board of three directors act as officers of the corporation, in accordance with California law. Martin Block is elected to be ONE’s first Chairman. Don Slater is elected Vice Chairman and Dale Jennings becomes Secretary/Treasurer.

1953

This entry is part of the featured exhibit The Pre-Gay Era in the USA curated by C. Todd White. As it is content created by a named author, editor, or curator, it is not open to editing by the general public. But we strongly encourage you to discuss the content or propose edits on the discussion page, and the author, editor, or curator will make any changes that improve the entry or its content. Thanks.