Terry Higgins

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For other people named Terence Higgins, see Terence Higgins (disambiguation).

Terry Higgins
Terry Higgins 1945-1982.jpg
Born
Terrance Higgins

(1945-06-10)10 June 1945
Pembrokeshire, Wales
Died4 July 1982(1982-07-04) (aged 37)
London, England
Known forFirst British person to die of AIDS

Terrence Higgins (10 June 1945 – 4 July 1982) was among the first people known to die of an AIDS-related illness in the United Kingdom.[1]

Life[]

Born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, Higgins left Haverfordwest as a teenager due to feeling alienated because of his sexuality.[1] He lived in London and worked as a Hansard reporter in the House of Commons during the day and as a nightclub barman and disc jockey in the evenings. He travelled to New York and Amsterdam as a DJ in the 1970s. Higgins collapsed at the nightclub Heaven while at work and was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital, London where he died of Pneumocystis pneumonia and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy on 4 July 1982.

Legacy[]

In his memory, Martyn Butler[2] and Rupert Whitaker (Higgins' partner) and Terry's close friend Tony Calvert initiated the formation of the Terry Higgins Trust (later renamed the Terrence Higgins Trust)[3] in 1982 with a group of concerned community-members and Terry's friends, including Len Robinson and Chris Peel;[4] it was dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV, promoting awareness of AIDS, and providing supportive services to people with the disease.

See also[]

  • Timeline of early AIDS cases

References and sources[]

References
  1. ^ a b "Terrence Higgins' legacy, 30 years after death". Neil Prior, BBC News Wales, 5 July 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ^ Prior, Neil (5 July 2012). "Higgins' legacy, 30 years later" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Howarth, Glennys & Oliver Leaman. (2013). Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-136-91360-0.
  4. ^ "How it all began | Terrence Higgins Trust". www.tht.org.uk.
Sources
  • "Terrence Higgins" in Robert Aldrich & Garry Wotherspoon. (Eds.) Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day, Volume 2. London: Routledge, 2001, pp. 187–188. ISBN 041522974X
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