2011: Elio Di Rupo becomes Prime Minister of Belgium and, subsequently, the first openly-gay male head of government.

1624: In the Virginia Colony, Richard Cornish is hanged for allegedly making advances on a ship’s steward. His conviction and execution, angrily contested by his brother and others, is the first to be recorded in the American colonies.

1933: Close to bankruptcy after repeated Nazi raids and seizures of his publications and property, Adolf Brand writes a letter to his followers announcing the end of the Homophile movement he has led.

2008: Strauss v. Horton, a legal challenge to Proposition 8, is filed.

2010: Voters in El Paso, Texas pass an initiative that strips health insurance benefits from the unmarried partners of city employees. Supporters say that their intention was to target gay city employees and their partners.

2004: Germany expands the rights of same-sex couples, allowing registered domestic partners to adopt each other’s children.