Historical figures you didn t know were gay
The amazing historical LGBT figures you might not know
Through our historical records, we can tell some of these tales from LGBT history.
What does LGBT stand for?
This is an umbrella term for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. It’s not a term you’ll find in our records (as it was introduced in the s). In fact, most historical documents avoided mentioning a person’s sexuality or gender identity altogether.
Remember, before the s, homosexual acts were illegal in the United Kingdom. If you’re researching a potential LGBT ancestor, it’s important to store the context in mind.
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Here, we explore the stories of just a few historical LGBT figures through the eyes of our family history records.
Gentleman Jack
Recently the subject of a popular BBC drama series starring Suranne Jones, Anne Lister was a lesbian diarist. Born in Yorkshire in the tardy 18th century, she wrote extensively about her relationships and her work. She is perhaps one of the most famous LGBT historical figures in the United Kingdom and often
11 Historical Figures You Didn’t Understand Were Gay
Christian fundamentalists continue to contend that homosexuality doesn't occur, and that gay people select their lifestyle without any hereditary predisposition. They further argue that homosexuality didn't exist before the 20th century when researcher Alfred Kinsey began studying sexual behaviors of adults. That, of course, ignores all evidence to the contrary, including the existence of gay people as documented throughout human history.
As far back in time as human records verb chronicle, gay people have existed and lived happy, sexually fulfilled lives, as these historical figures attest. While the sexuality of some remains hotly disputed--even in the face of documented sexual encounters--some people still refuse to believe any of the icons on this list could ever have tried the big gay way. They'd be wrong.
These 11 historical figures all had documented or strongly suggested gay encounters with passionate same-sex lovers. Some remained discreet with their noun, others kept things a bit more overt, either confessing their love,
June is Pride Month, which commemorates the Stonewall riots of , when patrons of a gay bar, The Stonewall Inn, in New York City fought back against a police raid. It was an inflection point in the gay liberation movement. To celebrate Pride Month, I wanted to share a bit about LGBTQ+ scientists of the past.
I often feel uncomfortable with these lists, especially when sexual orientation and/or gender identity is speculative. Many LGBTQ+ people in history couldn't come out publicly (and the truth is that many today still can't), and it feels a little intrusive to speculate based on a letter or some ambiguous anecdote. But I also know that the wonderful that comes from the visibility of those historical figures is significant. It's important to study about the contributions LGBTQ+ people have long been making. So I've included in this list people who were public about their identity and/or orientation as well as people who are thought to have been LGBTQ+.
This list is more on the historical side and includes mostly (though not entirely) people who are no longer workin
Historical Figures of LGBTQ+ History
Barbara Jordan was born on February 21, , in Houston, Texas. After attending Phyllis WheatleyHigh School, Jordan graduated in Upon graduation, Jordan attended Texas Southern University and earned her bachelor’s degree in She then obtained her law degree from Boston University to practice law in Houston, TX. In , Jordan began her political career and ran for the Texas House of Representatives. She lost this election and ran again in However, she lost again, so in she decided to run for Texas Senate, instead. This time, Jordan won and became the first African American woman to be elected in that was the first African American state senator in the U.S. since On March 28, , she was elected President of the Texas Senate, making her the first Black woman in America to oversee a legislative body. She also ran for Congress, during this time, and became the first African American in the 20th century to be elected to Congress from the South. In addition to these accomplishments, Barbara was also the first LGBTQ+ woman in Congress. Nancy Earl, an edu