Timeline: Working-Class LGBTQ+ U.S. History, 1836-2020

Work and Economic Life

This chronology on U.S. LGBTQ+ working-class history has been created with the help of Miriam Frank's book Out in the Union: A Labor History of Queer America (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2014), with the permission of the author. Citations to sources are provided in Frank's book. The timeline is a collaborative work-in-progress that has had many contributors over a long period of time. Some of the language used and concepts referenced, influenced by colonialism, imperialism, racism, sexism, and anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs and practices, might have been considered offensive or otherwise problematic by the individuals discussed in the historical documents; some might be considered offensive or otherwise problematic by LGBTQ+ people today or in the future. All of this is part of LGBTQ+ history. We welcome new contributions; please contact outhistory@gmail.com. First published on OutHistory in 2016; last edited in 2023.

1800s

1900-1920

1940-1960

1920-1940

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

workingchrono

Timeline