Portal:LGBTQ

Rioters outside San Francisco City Hall, May 21, 1979, reacting to the voluntary manslaughter verdict for Dan White

The White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of a lenient sentencing of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco, and of Harvey Milk, a member of the city's Board of Supervisors who was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979, in San Francisco. Earlier that day White had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter, the lightest possible conviction for his actions. The lesser conviction outraged the city's gay community, setting off the most violent reaction by gay Americans since the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.

The gay community of San Francisco had a longstanding conflict with the San Francisco Police Department. White's status as a former police officer intensified the community's anger at the SFPD. Initial demonstrations took place as a peaceful march through the Castro district of San Francisco. After the crowd arrived at the San Francisco City Hall, violence began. The events caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property damage to City Hall and the surrounding area, as well as injuries to police officers and rioters. (Full article...)

Romaine Brooks, c. 1894

Romaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard; May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970) was an American painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri. She specialized in portraiture and used a subdued tonal palette keyed to the color gray. Brooks ignored contemporary artistic trends such as Cubism and Fauvism, drawing on her own original aesthetic inspired by the works of Charles Conder, Walter Sickert, and James McNeill Whistler. Her subjects ranged from anonymous models to titled aristocrats. She is best known for her images of women in androgynous or masculine dress, including her self-portrait of 1923, which is her most widely reproduced work.

Although her family was wealthy, Brooks had an unhappy childhood after her alcoholic father abandoned the family; her mother was emotionally abusive and her brother mentally ill. By her own account, her childhood cast a shadow over her whole life. She spent several years in Italy and France as a poor art student, then inherited a fortune upon her mother's death in 1902. Wealth gave her the freedom to choose her own subjects. She often painted people close to her, such as the Italian writer and politician Gabriele D'Annunzio, the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, and her partner of more than 50 years, the writer Natalie Barney. (Full article...)

• ...that Tanaz Eshaghian's film Be Like Others explores the experiences of transsexuals in Iran, a country that outlaws homosexuality but sanctions sex-reassignment surgery?
• ... that horror novelist Anne Rice has cited the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter as an inspiration for her own homoerotic vampire fiction?
• ... that Silverton, Oregon has elected the first openly transgender mayor in the United States?
• ... that after initially deciding not to air the Roseanne episode "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because it included Mariel Hemingway kissing Roseanne Barr, ABC promoted it as "the lesbian kiss episode"?

• 1 – Gus Kenworthy (1991–) British-American freestyle skier
• 1 – Adam Ellis (1986–) American artist
• 1 – Klaus Wowereit (1953–), German politician and former Governing Mayor of Berlin
• 2 – Annie Leibovitz (1949–), American portrait photographer
• 3 – Noah Schnapp (2004–), American actor
• 3 – Erik Bruhn (1928–1986), Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author
• 3 – Eleonora Duse (1858–1924), Italian actress
• 3 – Gore Vidal (1925–2012), American author, essayist, and political activist
• 4 – Alan L. Hart (1890–1962), American physician, radiologist, tuberculosis researcher, and novelist
• 4 – Terri L. Jewell (1954–1995), American author, poet and Black lesbian activist
• 4 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (1942–), Icelandic politician, former Prime Minister of Iceland, world's first openly gay head of government
• 5 – Chevalier d'Éon (1728-1810), French diplomat, spy, and soldier
• 5 – John Addington Symonds (1840–1893), English poet and literary critic
• 6 – Bruno Balz (1902–1988), German songwriter
• 6 – Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), Polish composer and pianist
• 7 – Dan Savage (1964–), American sex advice columnist
• 8 – Kristanna Loken (1979–), American model and actress
• 10 – Wade MacLauchlan (1954–), Canadian politician, Premier of Prince Edward Island
• 11 – Jerome Robbins (1918–1998), American theater producer, director, and choreographer
• 11 – Matt Bomer (1977–), American actor
• 11 – Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), former First Lady of the United States and human rights activist
• 12 – Xulhaz Mannan (1976–2016), Bangladeshi magazine editor and LGBT activist
• 12 – Brian J Smith (1981–), American film, stage, and television actor
• 13 – Ian Thorpe (1982–), Australian freestyle swimmer, five-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2000 & 2004)
• 14 – Isaac Mizrahi (1961–), American fashion designer & TV presenter
• 14 – Ben Whishaw (1980–), English actor
• 15 – Michel Foucault (1926–1984), French philosopher
• 15 – Jenna Talackova, Canadian beauty pageant contestant, model and TV personality
• 16 – Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), Irish writer, poet, and aesthete
• 16 – Matt Bernstein (1998–), American activist and make-up artist
• 16 – Lawrence Chaney (1996–), Scottish drag performer
• 16 – Cressida Dick (1960–), British police commissioner
• 17 – Montgomery Clift (1920–1966), American actor
• 17 – Mark Gatiss (1966–), English actor, screenwriter and novelist
• 17 – Ryan McGinley (1977–), American photographer
• 17 – Laura Nyro (1947–1997), American songwriter, singer, and pianist
• 18 – Uzi Even (1940–), Israeli professor, former politician and first openly gay member of Israeli parliament
• 18 – Brittney Griner (1990–), American basketball player
• 18 – Martina Navratilova (1956–), American tennis player
• 19 – George Nader (1921–2002), American actor
• 19 – Robert Reed (1932–1992), American actor
• 20 – Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891), French poet
• 21 – William Dale Jennings (1917–2000), American LGBT rights activist, playwright, and author
• 21 – Peter Mandelson (1953–), British Labour politician and former European Commissioner for Trade
• 21 – Megan Smith (1964–), American technology corporate executive, and former Chief Technology Officer of the United States (2014-2017)
• 21 – Andrew Scott (1976–), Irish actor
• 21 – Matt Dallas (1982–), American actor 
• 22 – Bruno Alcantara (1988–), Brazilian model
• 22 – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (1975–), American actor
• 22 – Todd Oldham (1961–), American fashion designee
• 22 – Brian Boitano, American figure skater, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist
• 22 – Saffron Burrows (1972–), English actress
• 22 – Lord Alfred Douglas (1870–1945), British poet and translator
• 22 – Marc Shaiman (1959–), American film/TV/theatre composer, lyricist & arranger
• 23 – Jean Acker (1893–1978), American actress
• 23 – Ireland Baldwin (1995–), American model
• 23 – Lilyan Tashman (1896–1934), American actress
• 24 – Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (1895–1964), French aristocrat & Monegasque royalty
• 24 – August von Platen-Hallermünde (1796–1835), German poet
• 24 – Zac Posen (1980–), American fashion designer
• 25 – David Furnish (1962–), Canadian CEO, filmmaker, artist and manager, husband of Elton John
• 25 – Claude Cahun (1894–1954), French artist, photographer, and writer
• 25 – Chely Wright (1970–), American country singer-songwriter
• 26 – Liliane Maestrini (1987–), Brazilian beach volleyball player
• 26 – Glen Murray (1957–), Canadian politician, world's first openly gay mayor of a major city (Winnipeg, MB)
• 27 – Katherine Bradley (1846–1914), English poet
• 28 – Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Irish painter
• 28 – Caitlyn Jenner (1949–), American TV personality & Olympic Gold Medalist in Decathlon (1976)
• 28 – Frank Ocean (1987–), American singer-songwriter
• 29 – Michelle Brooke-Marciniak (1973–), American business executive and former WNBA basketball player
• 29 – Ann-Marie MacDonald (1958–), Canadian playwright, novelist, actress & broadcast journalist
• 30 – Timothy Findley (1930–2002), Canadian novelist & playwright
• 31 – David Ogden Stiers (1942–2018), American actor and conductor
• 31 – Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972), American playwright, poet and novelist
• 31 – Brandon Black (1988–), American actor

• Timeline of LGBTQ history
• List of LGBTQ events
• List of LGBTQ rights activists
• List of years in LGBTQ rights
• List of LGBTQ bookstores
• Lists of LGBTQ people
• List of African-American LGBTQ people
• List of LGBTQ writers
• List of LGBTQ artists
• List of drag queens