What was the sexual orientation of Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Answer 1

There is some evidence that Ralph Waldo Emerson was bisexual. During his early years at Harvard, he said he was "strangely attracted" to a young man named Martin Gay, about whom he wrote sexual poetry. Nathaniel Hawthorne, (author of The Scarlet Letter) was also purportedly one of his infatuations.

Answer 2

It is a matter of debate. Walt Whitman never came out as a gay man because in the 19th Century, he would have risked prison or worse.

Whitman's sexuality is generally assumed to be gay or bisexual based on his poetry, though that has been at times disputed.

Answer 3

Ralph Waldo Emerson's sexual orientation is not definitively known. He was married to his wife, Ellen Tucker, who passed away after two years of marriage. There is no concrete evidence to suggest he had any other sexual relationships.