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Laurence Michael Dillon (1 May 1915 – 15 May 1962) was a British doctor and author, and the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty.: vii  Dillon was an early user of masculinising hormone replacement therapy and one of the first recorded recipients of a double mastectomy for the purpose of gender reassignment. His 1946 book Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology is considered a pioneering work in the field of transgender medicine. As a surgeon, he performed an orchidectomy on Roberta Cowell, the first British trans woman to receive male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. His transition became a subject of public attention when it affected his listing as the heir presumptive for the Dillon baronetcy of Lismullen in Ireland. He later moved to India and became devoted to Buddhism, changing his name to Lobzang Sramanera and then to Lobzang Jivaka. Between 1960–1962, he wrote four books on Buddhism, including Imji Getsul: An English Buddhist in a Tibetan Monastery. His autobiography Out of the Ordinary: A Life of Gender and Spiritual Transitions was completed in 1962, and published in 2017. Early life Dillon was born on 1 May 1915 in Ladbroke Gardens, Kensington. Assigned female at birth, he was the second child of Robert Arthur Dillon (1865–1925), a Royal Navy Lieutenant and heir to the baronetcy of Lismullen in Ireland. His Australian mother, Laura Maud McCliver (née Reese) (1888–1915), died of sepsis when he was less than two weeks old. Robert Arthur Dillon suffered from alcoholism and was forced to leave the Navy. He was unable to look after Michael Dillon and his older brother Robert 'Bobby' William Charlier Dillon, so the children were raised by their two paternal aunts, Toto and Daisy, in Folkestone, Kent. The children's aunts lived in economic hardship which was self-imposed due to their prudent financial practices. Robert Arthur Dillon died in 1925, making his son Bobby the immediate heir to the baronetcy of Lismullen. Less than a month later, the current baronet—Sir John Fox Dillon—also died, thereby passing the title onto Bobby, who at the time was eleven years old. With the title, Bobby inherited the family estate in County Meath where he and his sibling would spend their holidays over the coming years. Michael Dillon was educated at Brampton Down Girls' School. He enjoyed learning about theology and spirituality, a passion he would retain throughout his life. He was brought up in the Church of England and had close relationships with the local vicars. He later recalled that one in particular, Reverend Watkins, helped him further his philosophical knowledge and practice. Dillon also enjoyed sports and masculine-oriented activities. Later in his life, he claimed that as a child and teenager, he never thought of himself as a girl. He recalled a particular incident from his teenage years when a boy held open a gate for him and he realised for the first time that others perceived him as a woman, which jarred with how he felt internally. Education at Oxford Dillon was encouraged by the local vicar to study theology at Oxford. In 1934, he enrolled in the Society of Oxford Home Students (now St Anne's College, Oxford). Dillon initially had ambitions of becoming a Deaconess post-graduation, but decided to switch his course to Greats, also known as Classics. At university, Dillon discovered a passion for rowing. He became the president of the Oxford University Women's Boat Club and fought for greater recognition of the women's sport and increased parity between men's and women's rowing. At the time, women's rowing involved rowing downstream, unlike the men, and the women wore clothing unsuitable for more strenuous action. The women's teams did not race against each other but rowed in turn and were timed. Dillon reversed these practices as captain and he achieved blues in 1935 and 1936. His advancement of the women's sport gained him press attention, and he featured in a Daily Mail article in November 1937 titled "How unlike a woman!" Whilst at Oxford, Dillon began to question his gender identity more intently. He continued to feel as if he were not a woman. This led him to present more masculine; he began smoking a pipe and riding a motorcycle. He confided in a close friend who helped him buy men's clothing and took him to boxing matches where women were not allowed. Despite the difficulties of having to live as a woman whilst not feeling like one, there is evidence to suggest that Dillon remembered his time at Oxford fondly, later describing himself as an "Oxford man". He graduated in 1938 with a third. Bristol and initial gender transition After graduation from Oxford, Dillon began working as a laboratory assistant in Stapleton, Bristol. The work involved dissection of brains which fostered his growing interest in the connection between the mind and the body. At this time, Dillon heard about the work of Doctor George Foss who was experimenting with the recently synthesised hormone testosterone; initially intended to ease severe menstrual symptoms in female patients, the drug caused masculinising side effects. Dillon approached Foss and asked to be prescribed the hormone for personal use. Foss was willing to help Dillon on the condition that he spoke to a psychiatrist first. After this condition was fulfilled, Foss began to worry that he would be called up to fight in World War II and thus leave Dillon's treatment unfinished, so he provided Dillon with testosterone pills to try out on himself. Although Dillon had only confided in Foss and the psychiatrist about his desire to experience the masculinising effects of testosterone, the psychiatrist betrayed his trust and told another doctor in the lab Dillon worked at. He felt forced to leave that job after more colleagues found out and gossiped about him. Dillon moved from the outskirts into the city of Bristol. His desire to be a man and uncertainty on what profession to pursue restricted his job opportunities, and he ultimately found employment as a petrol pump attendant at College Motors, a garage. Whilst at the garage, Dillon continued to self-administer testosterone. He faced frequent taunting from his colleagues who would inform customers about how Dillon was a woman who wanted to be a man. Over the four years he spent at the garage, Dillon's physical transition became more apparent and he was able to present more confidently as a man. Eventually, his gender was accommodated by the garage staff and customers would immediately assume he was male. It was whilst working at the garage that Dillon started using the name Michael. He felt more accepted after volunteering to become the garage's firewatcher during heavy bombing of Bristol during the Second World War. Whilst working as a firewatcher, Dillon wrote his first book Self: a study in ethics and endocrinology. Written from the perspective of a neutral third party, the book argues for greater empathy for patients who wish to change their sex an.... Discover the Michael Laurence popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Michael Laurence books.