Axel Axgil, a long-time Danish gay rights activist, has died at the age of 96. Axgil and his partner, Eigil, were the first couple in the world to enter into a gay civil union.
Axgil, who was also a founding member of LGBT Danmark, was born Axel Lundahl-Madsen. He and his partner, who were together for 46 years, used a combination of their first names as their surname.
Axgil remained a plucky guy well past his 90th birthday. And when Xtra interviewed him in 2009 through an interpreter; when recounting how he met Eigil, Axgil explained that they met at a nightclub and then headed home together. On their way they were harassed by a group of young men who started shouting at them: “Are you going to go home and have a good fuck?”
Axgil’s response? “Yes, we are – thank you very much!”
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