Queensbury, or John Sholto Douglas, was the 9th Marquess of Queensberry and the father of Oscar Wilde's lover, Alfred Douglas. Queensbury reportedly lacked respectability, as he was a loud atheist who gained fame from formulating rules for boxing. His oldest son committed suicide after a threat of being exposed for his homosexual affair, making Queensbury extremely sensitive to sexual relationships between men. He was certain that Oscar Wilde was a homosexual due to his flamboyant behavior, so he demanded Alfred Douglas cut off contact with him. When he refused, Queensbury responded by sending Wilde a letter at London’s Albemarle Club, addressed to "Oscar Wilde, posing sodomite". Wilde sued him for libel and lost, which was the catalyst for the next trials that resulted in Wilde being sent to prison.

Sources:

Branch Collective

Biography