1981: The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus becomes the first openly gay musical group to play at Carnegie Hall with their Christmas concert.

1970: Lesbian painter Romaine Brooks, dies in Nice, France at age 96.

1979: Martin Sherman‘s Bent, about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, starring Richard Gere and David Dukes, opens on Broadway. It runs for 241 performances.  It goes on to be Tony nominated for Best Play and Best Featured Actor in a Play (David Dukes).  Richard Gere goes on to win the 1980 Theatre World Award for his acting work in this production.

1988: The first World AIDS Day, organized by the World Health Organization, is held.  Today we honor and remember those we’ve lost to the AIDS Crisis and those that are still fighting.

1977: Gay playwright Terence Rattigan, known for The Winslow Boy (1946), The Browning Version (1948), The Deep Blue Sea (1952), dies in Bermuda at the age of 66.

1984: West Hollywood, the first city in the U.S. to have a city council with a majority of LGBTQ members, is incorporated in Los Angeles County.

1978: Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by former City Supervisor Dan White. 1980: Bosom Buddies-a sitcom about two young broke New York men having to dress in drag to live in a low rent (but all girl) hotel, premieres on ABC. It stars Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari.