LGBTQ+ History

LGBTQ+ history includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Key moments in LGBTQ+ history include the Stonewall Riots, the assassination of Harvey Milk, the AIDS crisis and marriage equality.

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The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. Learn how members of the LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.

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Two people holding a lgbt flag behind their backs

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Featured Overview

The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. Learn how members of the LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.

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Christine Jorgensen

Before the Stonewall Riots, these activists helped set the stage for advances in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

From left, vogue dancers Cesar Valentino (white shirt), Derrick Xtravaganza Huggins, and Fidel perform at the Copacabana nightclub, New York, New York, May 25, 1989. (Photo by Rita Barros/Getty Images)

Harlem drag balls thrived during the post-Civil War era, creating a space where trans and queer people of color later broke out to develop House Ballroom.

How the AIDS Quilt Allowed Millions to Memorialize the Epidemic

The AIDS Memorial Quilt—with 1,920 individual panels, each inscribed with the names of people lost to AIDS—was displayed for the first time on October 11, 1987. It has grown ever since.

The Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights as early as 1958.

Trans Rights

The Spirit That Built America - Cooper's Do-nuts Sparks the Trans Rights Movement

You might not expect a Donut Shop to spark a revolution, but in 1959, Cooper's Do-nuts sets the stage for the trans rights movement.

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LGBTQ+ History
NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 1992: L-R: Drag queen RuPaul pose for a portrait in November 1992 in Times Square in New York City, New York. (Photo by Catherine McGann/Getty Images).

There is a long history of performers using clothing, makeup and hairstyles to express gender. These were among the first to make waves.

Zdeněk Koubek

Czech track star Zdeněk Koubek had already set a world record in the women's 800-meter dash, when he announced in 1935 that he was going to be living as a man.

Portrait of Alan Turing. (Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Alan Turing was a British mathematician and logician whose work laid the foundation for modern computer science and artificial intelligence. He was instrumental in breaking Nazi communication encryptions during World War II.

Shortly after the historic Stonewall protest in 1969, two transgender activists, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson, embarked on a mission to protect one of New York City's most vulnerable communities.

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You might not expect a Donut Shop to spark a revolution, but in 1959, Cooper's Do-nuts sets the stage for the trans rights movement.

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Le Chevalier d'Éon

The Chevalier d’Éon (1728-1810) served as a French soldier, diplomat and spy—while living both as 'Charles' and 'Charlotte.'

Christine Jorgensen

Before the Stonewall Riots, these activists helped set the stage for advances in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Pride

The history of Pride Month began with the June 1969 Stonewall Riots and continues today with celebrations honoring the LGBTQ+ community.

Before The Stonewall Inn Riots, one triumph in a West Village bar fought sexual orientation discrimination with a "Sip In".

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Protestors in the "Flower Power" protest camp out at the police department following a raid at the gay bar The Patch

The 1969 Stonewall Riots marked a historic turning point for gay rights, but several smaller uprisings preceded Stonewall as LGBTQ communities pushed back against harassment and inequality.

The organizers of the San Francisco event faced major challenges, including a lawsuit by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

From left, vogue dancers Cesar Valentino (white shirt), Derrick Xtravaganza Huggins, and Fidel perform at the Copacabana nightclub, New York, New York, May 25, 1989. (Photo by Rita Barros/Getty Images)

Harlem drag balls thrived during the post-Civil War era, creating a space where trans and queer people of color later broke out to develop House Ballroom.

In an era when women were discouraged from entering the work force, these women forged ahead in a profession normally exclusive to men.

Lavender Marriages

Some of the Golden Age of Hollywood's brightest stars were suspected to have been in "lavender" marriages—for the sake of their careers.

Stonewall Inn

The struggle for LGBTQ rights dates at least as far back as 1924 and accelerated in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

In the 1940s, '50s and '60s, police arrested LGBTQ people based on an informal "three-article" rule. The Stonewall Riots helped turn the tide against these arrests.

The Stonewall Inn

The June 1969 riots at New York City's Stonewall Inn marked a raucous turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights.

The Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights as early as 1958.

The Stonewall Riots

Fifty years later, Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill admits the police department enforced discriminatory laws.

Pink triangles were originally used in concentration camps to identify gay prisoners.

In 18th-century Britain, soldiers extorted money by threatening to accuse men of sodomy.

Batwoman

Batwoman's arrival in 1956 wasn't just about spicing up Batman and Robin’s routine.

Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, a German psychiatrist who in the late 19th century claimed he could turn gay men straight. (Credit: Public Domain)

In the late 19th century, psychiatrists and doctors began to label same-sex desire in medical terms—and looking for ways to reverse it.

Ellen DeGeneres Coming Out

According to a 2015 poll, DeGeneres did more to influence Americans’ attitudes about gay rights than any other celebrity or public figure.

In 1966, three men walked into a bar, stated they were gay and ordered drinks. When they were denied service, a movement began.

Baron Friedrich von Steuben was known for his bravery and the discipline and grit he brought to the American troops.

Demonstrators carry signs calling for protection of homosexuals from discrimination as they march in a picket line in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 1967. (Credit: AP Photo)

Denounced, questioned, pressured to resign and even fired, LGBT people were once rooted out of the State Department in what was known as the Lavender Scare.

Oscar Wilde.

Lord Alfred Douglas Wilde kept his homosexuality a secret. He married and had two sons. But in 1891, Wilde began an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, a young British poet and aristocrat 16 years his junior. Douglas’ father, the Marquess of Queensberry, w...

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Though Clinton admitted the policy was “not a perfect solution,” he presented it as a “major step forward” from the existing ban.

The Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. Learn how members of the LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.

3:47m watch

Learn about what the ACLU stands for, its history and founders, and some of the biggest cases it has represented. Dive into the Scopes Monkey Trial, Brown v. Board of Education and Obergefell v. Hodges, which led to legalizing same sex marriage.

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Two women in the 1890s. (Credit: PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)

So-called 'Boston marriage' offered an alternative for women who didn’t want to depend on men.

Birth of the ACLU The National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) formed in 1917 to provide legal aid for conscientious objectors of World War I and those being prosecuted for espionage and sedition. Conscientious objectors are individuals who refuse to perf...

HISTORY: Gay Rights

The gay rights movement in the United States began in the 1920s and saw huge progress in the 2000s, with laws prohibiting homosexual activity struck down and a Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Jim Obergefell and John Arthur

Edie Windsor and Jim Obergefell were fighting for basic spousal rights.

People hold candles during an evening memorial service for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shootings. (Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

At 2:02 a.m. on June 12, 2016, a lone gunman entered Latin night at Pulse in Orlando and started to fire his bullets.

Participants at a Gay Pride gathering in San Francisco, California, early 1970s.

When the police raided the Stonewall Inn in 1969, the riots that ensued sparked a global movement.

IOWA CITY, IOWA - APRIL 3: Gay, lesbian and transgender activists react to the unanimous decision by the Iowa Supreme Court earlier in the day recognizing same sex marriage as a civil right during a celebration on April 3, 2009 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

The road to full marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States was paved with setbacks and victories. The landmark 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges made gay marriage legal throughout the country.

White Night Riots, Crowd of 12,000 carried flickering candles as they marched to honor Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, on November 27, 1979. In foreground is Moscone's daughter, Jennifer, as she leads parade with Cleve Cleveland, Harvey Milk's former assistant.

On May 21, 1979, thousands of members of San Francisco’s predominantly gay Castro District community took to the streets to protest the lenient sentence received by Dan White for the murders of local politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Their anger–combined with the actions of police who arrived to quell […]

HISTORY: Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk, Class Clown Harvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. The second son of William and Minerva Milk, he came from a family with prominent ties to the community: His Lithuanian-born grandfather Morris owned Milk’s Dry...

Pride flag

A Vietnam War veteran and drag performer came up with the iconic design in 1978.

Stonewall Riots Anniversary

The Stonewall Riots, also called the Stonewall Uprising, took place on June 28, 1969, in New York City, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a local gay club. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement.

Get the history behind the Comics Code Authority and how it kept some characters out of mainstream superhero stories for more than three decades.