Oral history interview with Otto Ulrich
Description
Otto Ulrich recounts working for the Library of Congress as an openly gay man and the discrimination he faced due to his sexuality. He also discusses his involvement with the Mattachine Society, an early gay rights organization in the United States.
Abstract
Otto Ulrich graduated from George Washington University in 1957, after a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania he moved to Washington D.C.. He studied multiple languages including German, Spanish, Latin, Russian and French and taught himself how to read Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. His knowledge of various languages allowed him to work at the Library of Congress where he made bibliographies and indexes of publications from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during World War II. He began at the Library of Congress in 1961 and got promoted to Assistant Head—which required him to fill out medical forms that revealed his sexuality. He left the Library of Congress in 1967 and would go on to work for Melpar Inc. where he received secret security clearance. He transferred to Litton Industries in 1968, but his security clearance was suspended because he was openly
homosexual. The U.S. District Court ruled that the government could not ask personal questions about homosexual behavior or deny security clearance if sexuality questions went unanswered in the Ulrich, et al. v. Laird, et al. case of 1972. Ulrich recounts meetings for the Mattachine Society which were held in private apartments where members often used only their first names or aliases to avoid losing housing or their jobs. He attended demonstrations
at the State Department, the parking lot of the Pentagon and the first March on Washington in 1971 (a protest against how federal and local governments were ignoring the AIDS epidemic). He moved to Virginia in 1981 and joined the Northern Virginia Gay Activist Alliance. Ulrich passed away on 12 Sept. 2001.
homosexual. The U.S. District Court ruled that the government could not ask personal questions about homosexual behavior or deny security clearance if sexuality questions went unanswered in the Ulrich, et al. v. Laird, et al. case of 1972. Ulrich recounts meetings for the Mattachine Society which were held in private apartments where members often used only their first names or aliases to avoid losing housing or their jobs. He attended demonstrations
at the State Department, the parking lot of the Pentagon and the first March on Washington in 1971 (a protest against how federal and local governments were ignoring the AIDS epidemic). He moved to Virginia in 1981 and joined the Northern Virginia Gay Activist Alliance. Ulrich passed away on 12 Sept. 2001.
Date
Coverage
60s-90s
Early gay male experience, Mattachine Society, job discrimination, court cases
Transcription
No, not yet transcribed
Original Format
Yes, recording available
Citation
“Oral history interview with Otto Ulrich,” Rainbow History Project Digital Collections, accessed January 22, 2025, https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/items/show/1254.
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