BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
A biologist, researcher, and founder of the Mariposa Education and
Research Foundation, Voeller died from AIDS-related complications on February
13, 1994 at his home in Topanga, Calif. Voeller was perhaps best known for
coining the acronym AIDS for "acquired immune deficiency syndrome," a term he
used in objection to the disease's earlier label, GRID, or "gay-related immune
disorder." From 1961 to 1972, he held various positions on the faculty of
Rockefeller University. A prominent gay rights activist, Voeller helped found
the National Gay Task Force (NGTF) in 1973 and with Jean O'Leary, served as
first co-directors. He also served as President of the Gay Activists Alliance
in New York City. In 1980, Voeller established the Mariposa Foundation based in
Topanga, to conduct human sexuality research, placing special emphasis on
reducing the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. At the time of his death,
Voeller's research with the Mariposa Foundation centered on the reliability of
various brands of condoms in preventing the spread of diseases. A result of
this research was a study funded in part by the American Foundation for AIDS
Research and the National Institutes of Health, that ranked 31 brands of
condoms under various conditions. Voeller was also conducting viral leakage
studies for the recently approved "female" condom.
Mariposa also worked to protect research material on the social and
political aspects of sexuality. Aware that papers, books, and ephemera on the
lesbian and gay rights movement were in particular danger of being lost or
destroyed, a network of volunteers searched for and gathered such material
together. As this collection grew, Voeller and his friend David B. Goodstein
began to consider how to ensure its preservation and professional care, make it
more widely accessible for scholarship, and increase its visibility. They
believed that the time had come for a major research library to take up the
project of documenting sexuality. The gift of the Mariposa archives to Cornell
University Library in 1988 launched such a program -- the Human Sexuality
Collection.
