German grammar with the natural gender of what is described. However, since the diminutive forms ending in "-chen" or "-lein" are grammatically neuter, there exist several notable counterexamples such as "das Mädchen" ("girl") and "das Fräulein" ("miss"). Thus these are not illogical, whereas "das Weib" (old, regional or anthropological: woman; a cognate of the English "wife") is really an exception. Furthermore, in German, the gender of nouns without natural gender is not predictable. For example, the three common pieces of cutlery all have different genders: "das Messer" ("knife") is neuter, "die Gabel" ("fork") is feminine, and "der Löffel" ("spoon") is masculine. Students
Henry D. Messer 2012. The National LGBTQ Task Force dedicated its 2015 National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change to Messer. Henry D. Messer Henry Davis Messer (September 22, 1927 – February 18, 2014) was an American LGBT rights activist and neurosurgeon. He was an early member of the Mattachine Society, involved with the first attempt to pass a human rights ordinance inclusive of sexual orientation in New York City, and co-founder of Triangle Foundation (today known as Equality Michigan). Messer was born in Madison, Florida on September 22, 1927 to Henry Messer, owner of a Chevrolet dealership, and Sarah Messer, a housewife.