Portrait of John de Verdion
John de Verdion (c. 1744-1802) was a German bookseller. He had been christened Theodora Grahn but lived as a man. There were more people who were born female but lived as men for shorter or longer periods. They had to watch out for being ‘exposed.’ This happened to De Verdion: his story was written up in sensationalist magazines and he was harassed. Even after his death, someone changed his name on his gravestone to his female baptismal name.