Martina Navratilova becomes a U.S. citizen

Czechoslovakian-born tennis champion Martina Navratilova is granted U.S. citizenship. A few days later, the New York Daily News reports that she is a lesbian.

Gerry Studds censured by U.S. House of Representatives

Gerry Studds, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is censured by the House of Representatives because of a consensual sexual relationship with a House page. Studds, who was the first member of Congress to openly acknowledge being gay, was re-elected by…

Reinaldo Arenas

Reinaldo Arenas, Writer

AQE Karl Heinrich Ulrichs pamphlet Vindicta

AQE Karl Heinrich Ulrichs pamphlet Gladius Forens

AQE Karl Heinrich Ulrichs pamphlet Inclusa

AQE Karl Heinrich Ulrichs pamphlet Formatrix

RVPM Augustus Granville Dill Common School and the Negro American

RVPM Edna St. Vincent Millay NBC photo

RVPM Nkoli in doorway photo

The above snapshot of anti-Apartheid activist Simon Tseko Nkoli was taken on August 30, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois.

1972 Democratic Party convention

Jim Foster of California and Madeline Davis of New York become the first openly gay and lesbian delegates to address a national convention of the Democratic Party, which was meeting in Miami. “We come to you affirming our pride,” Foster declared in…

Canadian Prime Minister acknowledges employment ban against homosexuals.

In a speech before the House of Commons, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau publicly acknowledges that homosexuality has in fact prevented federal employees from receiving security clearances to handle classified documents and information and…

Monique Wittig

Monique Wittig, Writer and Feminist Theorist

Joan Biren

Vito Russo

Vito Russo, Activist and Film Historian

George Cukor

Leonard Matlovich

Leonard Matlovich, Air Force Veteran and Activist

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera, Transgender Activist

Celluloid Closet Is Published

The Celluloid Closet, by Vito Russo, is published. Russo’s book told the history of how Hollywood portrayed gays and lesbians in film from the silent era through the 1970s. Covering over 300 films, it was deeply critical of the film industry’s…

Swedish legal reform

A law criminalizing blackmail goes into effect in Sweden. A major motivation for adopting the law by the Social Democratic government was to protect homosexuals, who were recognized as one of the primary targets of blackmailers.