The term “transsexual” is coined by German physician Magnus Hirschfield in the journal article The Intersexual Constitution (Die intersexuelle Konstitution).

Lili Elbe, Germany, is the first known person to undergo male-to-female gender reassignment surgery. However the Danish artist died three months after her fifth and final operation, as a result of her body rejecting her uterus transplant.

Christine Jorgensen after her transition in 1953 (Courtesy Everett Collection/REX) Christine Jorgensen becomes the most well-known recipient of gender reassignment surgery after she is outed by the New York Daily News. The former soldier was the first transgender woman to be prescribed female hormones; her fame made many people aware of transgender issues for the first time.

The first Briton – April Ashley – undergoes gender reassignment surgery in Morocco aged 25, having saved £3,000 for the procedure. She was awarded an MBE for services to transgender equality in 2012.

Reed Erickson, a transgender man from Texas, forms the Erickson Educational Foundation and donates millions of dollars to promote gay and transgender equality.

Sweden becomes the first country to legalise gender reassignment surgery, however the state rules that any person who legally wants to change their sex must be sterile. This law was only overturned in 2012.

Renée Richards playing in the 1977 US Open (GETTY) The transgender woman Renée Richard wins a case against the US Tennis Association when the New York Supreme Court rules she has the right to play professional tennis as a woman.

British Bond actor Caroline Cossey is outed by News of the World as a transgender woman. She subsequently begins campaigning against the European Court of Human Rights for changes in British law regarding transsexuals; Cossey’s actions help bring about the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Pakistani eunuchs hold a candlighting ceremony in 2014 (GETTY) A year after the murder of Rita Hester, a transgender woman, in November 1998, the first Transgender Day of Remembrance is held in Boston and San Francisco; in subsequent years, it becomes an annual international event. Created to honour victims of anti-transgender violence, it is organised in response to the lack of reporting of Hester’s death.

Thanks to the Gender Recognition Act, people in the UK who have undergone gender reassignment surgery can now change their legal gender; this allows them to acquire a new birth certificate and means they can get married.

Candis Cayne becomes the first transgender actor to play a recurring character on a primetime TV show; the Hawaiian actor portrays Carmelita Rainer in Dirty Sexy Money.

Isis King, a transgender woman, brings transgender rights under spotlight as the first transgender model to be featured on America’s Next Top Model.

Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black Laverne Cox becomes the first black American transgender woman to star in and produce her own TV show, TRANSform Me.

Thanks to the Equality Act, it becomes illegal in the UK to harass or discriminate against someone because they are intending to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone gender reassignment.

Miss Universe opens the competition to transgender contestants. Although they initially disqualified Canadian transgender contestant Jenna Talackova, the pageant organisers reverse the decision after she pursues legal action.

Kellie Maloney last month (Ken McKay/ITV/REX) Kellie Maloney, formerly British boxing promoter Frank Maloney, publicly announced she was living as a woman. Boxer Lennox Lewis, who Kellie guided to become a heavyweight champion, expressed his initial surprise before saying "I respect Kellie's decision and say that if this is what brings about true happiness in her life, than so be it."

Laverne Cox graces the cover of TIME Magazine next to the title “The transgender tipping point”, as well as becoming the first transgender actor to be nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in Orange is the New Black.

Transparent, a television series about a father who comes out as a transgender woman to his family, wins the Golden Globe for Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy). Plus, Jeffrey Tambor, who played the pivotal transgender character, wins the Golden Globe for Best Actor.