Image: Shutterstock.com | Above: A stock photo of Oscar Wilde, (1854-1900) Irish literary genuis. This photo comes from an 1882 studio portait by Napoleon Sarony.
Date
Father of two Oscar Wilde was arrested after losing a case in which he denied he was homosexual.
The Marquess of Queensberry, father of one of Wilde’s many lovers, Lord Alfred Douglas, had accused him of what was then a criminal offence so Wilde, against advice, took a complaint of criminal libel.
If Wilde won, he would win back his reputation. If he lost, he would by default be exposed as a homosexual and subject to arrest.
And in a hotel in Knightsbridge on this date, that is what happened.