Patrick Dacre Trevor-Roper (7 June 1916 – 22 April 2004) was a British eye surgeon, author and pioneer gay rights activist, who played a leading role in the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in the UK.
"[4][5] In 1955 Trevor-Roper agreed to appear as a witness before the Wolfenden Committee which had been appointed by the British government to investigate, among other things, whether male homosexuality should remain a crime.
[2] Trevor-Roper told the Wolfenden Committee that the majority of gay men led normal and well-adjusted lives, posed no threat to children or public morality, and that homosexuality was not a physical or mental illness.
He argued that the age of consent should be lowered to 16, and told the committee that many young gay men committed or attempted suicide because of isolation or depression induced by homophobia.
[citation needed] Trevor-Roper remained an active gay rights activist, campaigning in particular for the abolition of the discriminatory age of consent laws.
[citation needed] In his 1970 book The World Through Blunted Sight, he explored how faulty or failing eyesight affected the style and technique of writers and artists.