Vern Bullough (1928-2006)

Vern Bullough most recently served as Professor of History and Sociology, Clinical Professor of Nursing, and Dean of the Natural and Social Sciences at the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo. Prior to working at SUNY Buffalo, Bullough was the founding director of the Center for Sex Research and Professor of History at California State University, Northridge. His research interests were in human sexuality, gay and lesbian rights, nursing, and the history of medicine. Bullough’s publications include: The Subordinate Sex (1974); Sexual Variance in Society and History (1976); and Before Stonewall: Trailblazers and Founders of the Gay and Lesbian Movement (2002). Bullough co-authored a number of books with Bonnie Bullough, among them Gender Blending: Transgender Issues in Today’s World (1997); Sexual Attitudes: Myths and Realities (1995); and Prostitution: An Illustrated History (1978). Bullough’s papers as well as The Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Sex and Gender are housed in the Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge. In 2005 the American Civil Liberties Union awarded Bullough the Defender of Liberty Award. Bullough also received a number of honors from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality including the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award in 1990. Bullough served as a Signs contributing editor from 1975 to 1978. Bullough’s article “Merchandising the Sanitary Napkin: Lillian Gilbreth’s 1927 Survey,” which illustrates his research on developments in medicine and their implications for women’s health, appeared in Signs in Winter 1985 (Vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 615-27).

Vern Bullough died June 21, 2006.