Bois Frederick Burk (1906–1993): Early Gay Rights Advocate; Part of Kinsey Study

 

Bois Burk and Burial Vault

Main Mausoleum, Section 12, Crypt Niche 2, Tier 1

Bois Frederick Burk (1906–1993) was an early gay rights advocate, diarist, and archivist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for preserving a unique and candid record of mid-20th century gay life, culture, and activism. His papers, held by the GLBT Historical Society, provide an important window into the "homophile movement," the rise of gay liberation, and the personal experiences of gay men navigating social stigma, legal discrimination, and aging.

Born on November 4, 1906, in Kentfield, Marin County, California, Burk was the youngest of four sons raised on a five-acre ranch. His father, Frederic Lister Burk [featured on this site HERE], was a pioneering educator and the first president of San Francisco State Normal School (now San Francisco State University). His mother, Caroline Frear Burk, came from a prominent Hawaiian family.

Burk graduated from Tamalpais High School in 1924 and earned a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1929, where he was president of the Cal Chess Club. He worked for insurance firms in San Francisco before joining the UC Berkeley Physical Education Department as a clerk in 1942. In 1956, he was forced to resign—apparently due to his homosexuality—though the circumstances remain unclear. A later attempt to obtain a federal job was rejected by the Civil Service Commission in 1959 on grounds of “gross immoral conduct.”

Burk lived a largely solitary life, never having a long-term partner, and resided in boarding houses and hotels around Berkeley. Despite frequent arrests related to public sexual activity and ongoing social marginalization, he was a tireless participant in the early gay rights movement. He was interviewed by Dr. Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s, became a member of the Mattachine Society in 1952, and actively participated in the League for Civil Education and the Society for Individual Rights during the 1960s. He embraced the philosophy of Gay Liberation after 1969 and attended many community events, leaving behind a trail of annotated programs and newspaper clippings.

In 1976, Burk filed and won a landmark age discrimination case against a gay bathhouse after being turned away for being “an old toad,” highlighting intersectional biases within the LGBTQ community. His extensive archives include autobiographical writings, correspondence, reflections on public sex and police entrapment, and records from local gay organizations. They are among the earliest and most personal documentary legacies of gay life in the Bay Area.

In his final years, Burk moved into a retirement facility in Berkeley under the care of relatives. He died on June 5, 1993, at the age of 86.

Sources: GLBT Historical Society, Bois Burk Papers; Online Archive of California (oac.cdlib.org); J. Howell Genealogical Database; Kinsey Institute, Find a Grave