This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1576, Italian poet Torquato Tasso admitted his love for Orazio Ariosto. One of Europe's most widely read poets, Tasso struggled with mental illness and died days before being crowned king of poets.

On this day, Mister Schmidt appeared in a St. Louis court on cross-dressing charges after two years of wearing men's clothing. The judge thought Schmidt looked 'very nice' and declined to fine them. Schmidt then married cousin Mary Ana Assade.

On this day, Jobriath was born. The first openly gay rock musician signed to a major label, he was a glam rock visionary who lived boldly and became one of the first internationally known musicians to die of AIDS.

On this day, the Gay Activists Alliance demonstrated at Suffolk County Police headquarters in New York to protest the arrest of two GAA members on sodomy charges. Three more were arrested at the protest.

On this day in 1980, La Cage aux Folles ended its New York run. Its defiant anthem 'I Am What I Am' became a rallying cry for Gay Pride that still echoes today.

On this day in 1988, the film adaptation of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy opened in the U.S. The story of Arnold Beckoff, a gay Jewish drag queen searching for love and family, brought queer lives to mainstream cinema.

On this day in 2006, New Jersey's legislature voted to establish civil unions, passing with strong margins in both chambers and advancing legal recognition for same-sex couples in the Garden State.