Arthur Corbett, 3rd Baron Rowallan
Encyclopedia
Captain
Arthur Cameron Corbett, 3rd Baron Rowallan (17 December 1919 – 1993), was a British
aristocrat most notable for successfully having his second marriage annulled in 1970 by a court on the grounds that his wife, April Ashley
, a transsexual woman, was a man under then-current UK law. The argument was accepted, and the case served as a precedent for all such cases until the Gender Recognition Act 2004
was passed, which provided the needed legal framework for changing a person's legal gender.
With his first wife, Eleanor Mary Boyle, whom he married in 1945 and divorced in 1961, Lord Rowallan had four children:
He succeeded Thomas Corbett
as the 3rd Baron Rowallan on 30 November 1977.
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
Arthur Cameron Corbett, 3rd Baron Rowallan (17 December 1919 – 1993), was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aristocrat most notable for successfully having his second marriage annulled in 1970 by a court on the grounds that his wife, April Ashley
April Ashley
April Ashley is an English model and restaurant hostess. She was the first British person to be outed as a transsexual, which was by the Sunday People in 1961...
, a transsexual woman, was a man under then-current UK law. The argument was accepted, and the case served as a precedent for all such cases until the Gender Recognition Act 2004
Gender Recognition Act 2004
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:...
was passed, which provided the needed legal framework for changing a person's legal gender.
With his first wife, Eleanor Mary Boyle, whom he married in 1945 and divorced in 1961, Lord Rowallan had four children:
- John Polson Cameron Corbett (born 8 March 1947), who became the 4th Baron on his father's death
- Sarah Elizabeth Cameron Corbett (born 5 April 1949)
- Anne Mary Cameron Corbett (born 3 September 1953)
- Rosalind Eleanor Cameron Corbett (born 2 January 1958)
He succeeded Thomas Corbett
Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan
Thomas Godfrey Polson Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan, KT, KBE, MC, TD , had a distinguished military career, was Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth and Empire and Governor of Tasmania.-Early life:...
as the 3rd Baron Rowallan on 30 November 1977.