Henry D. Messer
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Dr. Henry Davis Messer MD |
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Dr. Henry D. Messer, MD at Triangle Foundation event in June 2006
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| Born |
September 22, 1927 Madison, Florida |
| Died | February 18, 2014 (aged 86) Dearborn Heights, Michigan |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Residence | Dearborn Heights, Michigan |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Duke University |
| Occupation | LGBT rights activist, neurosurgeon |
| Years active | 1953-2013 |
| Organization | Equality Michigan |
| Movement | LGBT rights, human rights |
| Partner(s) | Carl House |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
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| Service/branch |
 United States Army Air Forces
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| Years of service | c.1950-1953 |
| Rank |
 Captain
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| Wars | Korean War |
Dr. Henry Davis Messer, MD (September 22, 1927 – February 18, 2014) was an American LGBT rights activist and neurosurgeon. He was an early member of the Mattachine Society, involved with the first attempt to pass a human rights ordinance inclusive of sexual orientation in New York City, and co-founder of Triangle Foundation (today known as Equality Michigan).
Messer was born in Madison, Florida on September 22, 1927 to Henry Messer, owner of a Chevrolet dealership, and Sarah Messer, a housewife. He moved to Durham, North Carolina to study premedicine at Duke University and went to Duke University School of Medicine.
Messer met his life partner, Carl House, while serving as a captain in the United States Army Air Forces. House was a Corporal in the United States Army when they met in 1951 after a night out with a group of gay servicemen. In 1953, after resigning from the Army Air Force, Messer and House moved to New York City's Greenwich Village. They moved to Dearborn Heights, Michigan in 1976.
He was shot while volunteering at the Triangle Foundation's office in Detroit on June 28, 1995. The incident received national attention as a possible anti-gay hate crime.
Messer died at approximately 5:00am on February 18, 2014 at his home in Dearborn Heights after a struggle with cancer.
During the Korean War, he entered the United States Army Air Forces as a first lieutenant. During the war, he was stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and began his specialization in neurosurgery under orders from his commanding officer.
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