An introduction to and overview of the story of Angela Calomiris, a working-class lesbian who was a key informant for the FBI in the 1940s against the Communist Party.
A brief introduction to an 18th century medical account of a trans person in a Paris hospital.
Two historians, Jonathan Ned Katz and Tavia Nyong’o, present and analyze the story and visual depiction of Peter Sewally/Mary Jones, a Black transgender person in New York City, in 1836. First published on OutHistory in 2017.
Esther Eng made a name for herself as the world's first female Chinese American filmmaker, a successful restaurateur, and—rejecting social expectations—a woman who felt little need to hide her romantic and sexual relationships with other women.…
This is a 90-minute illustrated talk narrated by Allan Bérubé (1946-2007) on the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union. Introduced by historians John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman, the talk tells the surprising and inspiring story of how ship stewards…
Reed Erickson used the wealth which his class privilege provided to support public education and activism about transgender lives and issues at a time when very little public attention was focused on the topic. Ada Bello, who wrote this account of…
OutHistory is pleased to publish an original essay by historian Douglas M. Charles discussing the research for his 2015 book Hoover’s War on Gays: Exposing the FBI’s “Sex Deviates” Program (University Press of Kansas).
OutHistory presented the first public showing of a documentary film about long-time gay activist Randy Wicker. The 50 minute film, produced and directed by Michael Kasino, uses interviews, movies, and still photos to detail the life of this ornery,…
In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Luisitania on May 7, 1915, OutHistory presented an original research report on one of its fascinating women passengers. First published on OutHistory on May 4, 2015.
In 1965 Drum magazine called it “the first sit-in of its kind in the history of the United States.” To honor the fiftieth anniversary of this major act of LGBT resistance, Marc Stein presented reports of the sit-in at Dewey’s restaurant in Center…
Larry Kramer's The American People, Volume I, Search for My Heart, A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015) is a fictional meditation on history, especially on gay and lesbian history. Kramer and other activists founded the AIDS Coalition to…
An introduction to the 1937 case history of “Mary Jones,” who scholars have identified as African American actress Edna Thomas. First published on OutHistory in 2015.
A collection John Ibson's images of African American men with other men that appear in his 2002 book, Picturing Men: A Century of Male Relationships in Everyday American Photography. First published on OutHistory in 2015.
On January 25, 1892, on a riverfront railroad track, in Memphis, Tennessee, Alice Mitchell slit the throat of Freda Ward. Mitchell explained: "I killed Freda because I loved her, and she refused to marry me." The murder and subsequent trial…
A gay teacher, born in 1959, recalls the bullying he suffered as a child, and how he came through it.
Document and Biography of Author
The Las Vegas OutHistory project. This exhibit was a winner of OutHistory's 2010 Since Stonewall community history contest!
This exhibit, published originally on OutHistory in 2014, explores a series of stories published in children’s books and magazines in antebellum America. Some portray children being punished for transgressing gender roles, others expose the range of…
An exhibit focusing on the strains of activism that dominated the LGBT political scene in New York City and across the country from 1969 to 1973.
Profiles of ten LGBT social justice activists by Rich Wilson. First published December 10, 2013. Last edited: May 28, 2017.