Skip to content
eventVerified

On 25 May 1895 Wilde is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour

On 25 May 1895 the Old Bailey convicted Oscar Wilde of gross indecency and imposed two years’ hard labour. In the causal graph this event strengthens Protection of Minority Rights, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

On 25 May 1895 the Old Bailey convicted Oscar Wilde of gross indecency and imposed two years’ hard labour. His contribution is as the convicted target.

Context

A sentence can be a later rights monument and was, then, a harm inflicted on him. Welfare sign here follows the later rights path the catalog is asked to store, not a celebration of the prison.

Oscar Wilde’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.

Justice Wills sentenced him. He did not author the count. Stored as the state’s conviction of a targeted person, later a rights-memory instrument. Hard labour’s health harm is the prison’s, not his contribution.

Why it matters

A named conviction under Labouchere became a durable minority-rights memory object.

Pentonville, Wandsworth, Reading are the state’s prisons.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.2 · verified

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactOn 25 May 1895 Wilde is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour
    2. strengthensDriverProtection of Minority Rights
    3. strengthensIndicators (2)Having a say in government
    Improving path

    impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 25 May 1895 · verified

    A named conviction under Labouchere became a durable minority-rights memory object.

    • Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Weakens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      43.9 Score · 43.9 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      26 readings, 1996–2024: rose from 43 Score to 43.9 Score.

      Normal is zero · any amount = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Britannica — Oscar WildeEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Famous Trials — The Trials of Oscar WildeUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City / Famous Trials · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Famous Trials, London Archives, and Britannica independently date the 25 May 1895 conviction and sentence.

Established: 25 May 1895 conviction and two-year sentence. Not established: that this verdict created 1967’s Sexual Offences Act.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorOscar Wilde
  2. contributed toFactOn 25 May 1895 Wilde is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour
  3. strengthensDriverProtection of Minority Rights
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). On 25 May 1895 Wilde is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/wil-conviction-1895

https://factrail.ai/facts/wil-conviction-1895

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

Dispute this factNamed here, or represent someone who is? Request a right of reply.