Prolific Person of the Week:

Christine Jorgensen

"Nature made a mistake, which I have corrected." 

Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926-May 3, 1989) was born George William Jorgensen Jr. in the Bronx area of New York. Her parents were George William Jorgensen Sr, a carpenter and contractor, and Florence Hansen. 

Christine's childhood was riddled with confusing instances, in which she later explained in self-describing herself as a "frail, blond, introverted little boy who ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games". 

Jorgensen graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1945 and was shortly thereafter drafted into the United States Army. After being discharged from the Army, she attended Mohawk College in Utica, New York, the Progressive School of Photography in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Manhattan Medical and Dental School in New York City, New York. 

As Jorgensen continued to work odd jobs in New York, she also began to ponder the possibility of sex-reassignment surgery. Her "lack of male physical development" had always concerned her, and upon researching treatments, she began to discover the intricate truths of the sexuality. 

Jorgensen then decided to tour Europe, in search of more answers to her questions about the possibility of sex-reassignment. She intended to go to Sweden, but whilst in Denmark visiting relatives she met Dr. Christian Hamburger, a Danish endocrinologist. Dr. Hamburger was a specialist in rehabilitative hormonal therapy, and under his careful direction, Jorgensen underwent a series of hormonal therapies and surgeries. 

It was then that Jorgensen chose the name Christine for her new identity, in honor of Dr. Hamburger. 

Little did Jorgensen know, when she returned to New York in February of 1953, she became an instant celebrity. Back home, her father, her only surviving parent, was incredibly accepting of her unique change. He built her a home in Massapequa, New York. When interviewed in later years about her return to the United States, and the sensation she faced, Jorgensen replied, "people were generally more curious than cruel". 

Jorgensen's private life was the cause of much tabloid craze. She was first engaged to John Traub, a labor-union statistician, and later to Howard J. Knox, a typist. Both engagements were called off, apparently due to the pressure both men faced about "marrying someone who used to be a man". 

Regardless of the struggles, Jorgensen enjoyed a comfortable life as an entertainer. Known for her elegance and polished wit, she preformed all over Europe and the United States well into her seventies. She also became a voice for transsexual and transgender individuals. 

Jorgensen died of bladder and lung cancer in 1989, four weeks short of her sixty-third birthday.