Axel and Eigil Axgil
Axel Axgil (born April 3, 1915) and Eigil Axgil (1922 - September 22 1995) were major Danish gay activists and a longtime couple. They were the first gay couple to enter into a civil union anywhere in the world following Denmark's legalisation of same-sex partnership registration in 1989, a landmark legislation which they were instrumental in bringing about.
Axel Axgil was born in 1915 as Axel Lundahl-Madsen, and Eigil Axgil as Eigil Eskildsen in 1922. In June 1949, inspired by the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights, they, together with several friends, founded F-48 or Forbundet af 1948 (The Association of 1948), Denmark's first gay rights organization. By 1951, F-48's membership had grown to 1,339 and there were branches in Sweden and Norway. In 1985, F-48 became the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians (Landsforeningen for Bøsser og Lesbiske, Forbundet af 1948 or LBL).
The couple also launched a gay magazine, Vennen (The Friend). In 1950, they adopted a shared surname, a combination of their given names, as an expression of their commitment to each other.
In 1989, Denmark became the first nation in the world to recognize domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. On October 1, 1989, the Axgils and 10 other Danish couples were married by Tom Ahlberg, the deputy mayor of Copenhagen, in the city hall, accompanied by worldwide media attention. The Axgils had been a couple for 40 years.
Eigil Axgil died on September 22, 1995 at the age of 73.
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