Browse material on the OutHistory website by time period.
An exhibit on the rediscovery of female impersonator and singer Gene Pearson. Published originally on OutHistory in 2020.
The growth of gossip magazines and tabloids during the first half of the twentieth century was partially fueled by the industry's embrace of sensational topics such as murder, violence, crime, and corruption. But no subject seemed to attract…
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…
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).
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.
This chronology surveys the history of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance of homosexuals and alleged homosexuals. It includes references to what was considered gender and sexual deviance. It also includes surveillance of the…
An exploration of the brief but significant life of African American educator Juliette Derricotte.
An exhibit on the often overlooked queer history of Newark, New Jersey, a history that is "tragic at times, but also bold, defiant, and resistant." First published on OutHistory in 2014.
An exhibit on the life of Sara Josephine Baker, a pioneering figure in the history of public health. Published originally on OutHistory in 2014.
Profiles of ten LGBT social justice activists by Rich Wilson. First published December 10, 2013. Last edited: May 28, 2017.
President John F. Kennedy was famous for his vivid, and some might say almost compulsive, heterosexuality. But straight men can have a gay side, and JFK’s life was filled with prominent gay men. First published on OutHistory in 2013.
A collection of biographies written by the students in Catherine Jacquet's Fall 2012 class at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The class was titled "Gender Non-Conformity in Historical Perspective."
Richmond is an old place, at least in American terms. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have always been a part of its history. This exhibit, published originally on OutHistory in 2013, is dedicated to all those who challenged the norms…
An introduction to the 2010 discovery by historian Randall Sell of Riddle of the Underworld (1921), a long-missing trans memoir by Jennie June/Ralph Werther/Earl Lind, with thanks to Ted Faigle for his transcription work. See also Who Was Jennie…
A searchable edition of Barbara Grier's 1981 bibliography The Lesbian in Literature. Republished in 2013 with the permission of Barbara Grier.
"Lesbians in the Twentieth Century" was created by Professor Esther Newton and the graduate and undergraduate students in the seminar on "Lesbian History" that she taught in fall of 2006 at the University of Michigan. Newton and…
These documents about LGBTQ+ Native Americans present years of testimony from a wide variety of observers: military men, missionaries, explorers, trappers, traders, settlers, and later, medical doctors, anthropologists, homosexual emancipationists,…
The history of African American gays and lesbians on Chicago's South Side. First published on OutHistory in 2012.
An exhibit based on original research in the extensive archive of a gay man who saved his correspondence. Adams (1903-1995) was born in Menominee, Michigan, moved to Chicago for several years, and then lived in New York for most of his life.