1845: In Paris, a mob attacks a group of about 50 men arrested by police in a sweep of the Tuileries Gardens, a popular cruising area. 1951: The “Missions and Purposes” of the Mattachine Society are ratified under a California corporation. 1981: Despite having privately acknowledged her bisexuality to officials from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Czechoslovakian- born … Read More
1848: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Co-organizer Lucretia Mott invite several hundred women to Seneca Falls, New York, for the first Women’s Rights Convention. About 100 sign a “Declaration of Sentiments” modeled on the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The document marks the beginning of organized feminism in the United States. 1921: The U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee issues … Read More
1966: Around 25 people picket Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco when new management begins using Pinkerton agents and police to harass gay and transgender customers. 1990: Two congregations of the Lutheran Church−both in San Francisco−are suspended for having ordained gay and lesbian pastors.
1968: The Wall Street Journal publishes an article entitled, “U.S. Homosexuals Gain in Trying to Persuade Society to Accept Them”. 1982: Queen Elizabeth’s personal bodyguard, fifty-year-old Commander Michael Trestrail, is forced to resign after British newspapers reveal he is gay and has been involved in a long-term relationship with a male prostitute. Later, reports surface that Prime … Read More
1982: A federal judge rules that the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s policy of excluding foreign gays from entering the United States is unconstitutional and violates guarantees of free speech and free association. 1984: U.S. News & World Report reports that gay men and lesbians, with an estimated seventeen million potential voters, now make up the seventh largest … Read More
1962: In New York City, Randy Wicker talks listener-supported radio station WBAI into broadcasting a taped program in which seven gay people discuss homosexuality. Widely publicized in the local press, the program is believed to be the first favorable broadcast on the subject in the U.S. 1975: Santa Cruz County, California, is the first US county to … Read More
1983: In the wake of a House Ethics Committee’s recommendation that he be reprimanded for a consensual sexual affair he had ten years previously with a seventeen-year-old congressional page, Representative Gerry Studds publicly acknowledges his homosexuality, becoming the first member of Congress ever to do so. 2011: California governor Jerry Brown signs the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and … Read More
1969: The New York Times notes that filming is under way for the movie version of Matt Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band, which is scheduled for release the following March. 1984: Appearing on a San Francisco talk show, Jerry Falwell offers $5,000 to anyone who can prove he once called the Metropolitan Community Church “vile … Read More
1972: At the Democratic National Convention, Madeline Davis, representing the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier, and Society for Individual Rights leader Jim Foster are the first speakers to advocate lesbian and gay rights at a national political convention. 1984: Walter Mondale chooses New York congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first female vice-presidential candidate … Read More
1977: Diversions and Delights, a one-man play starring Vincent Price as Oscar Wilde, has its world premiere in San Francisco. Nine months later, it moves to Broadway. 1984: Boston Mayor Ray Flynn approves a gay rights ordinance that prohibits job and credit discrimination against lesbians and gay men. 1990: Hong Kong repeals its sodomy laws.