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Folk dancers, 1998 from divided soul by David Alan Harvey

A Yorkshire farmer's journal from 1810 reveals surprisingly modern views on being gay.

Historians from Oxford University have been taken aback to discover that Matthew Tomlinson’s diary from 1810 contains such open-minded views about same-sex attraction being a “natural” human tendency.

The diary challenges preconceptions about what “ordinary people” thought about homosexuality - showing there was a debate about whether someone really should be discriminated against for their sexuality.

“In this exciting new discovery, we see a Yorkshire farmer arguing that homosexuality is innate and something that shouldn’t be punished by death,” says Oxford researcher Eamonn O'Keeffe.

Yet another historical thing that makes me ache with wonder at the untold stories tucked away or implied. There are 3 surviving diaries, with another 8 that are missing.

What kills me tho is this last bit:

The farm, at the edge of the landowner’s estate, is now under a housing estate and a golf course. All that survives are his diaries.

All that survives are his diaries.