This Day in Queer History

On this day, Hubert Languet wrote to poet Philip Sidney: 'My affection for you has entered my heart far more deeply than I have ever felt for anyone else.' Four centuries later, his words still resonate.

Today in queer history, Stormé DeLarverie was born. The butch lesbian whose scuffle with police helped ignite the Stonewall riots worked as a bouncer and 'guardian of lesbians in the Village' until age 85.

On this day, Illinois chartered the Society for Human Rights, the first U.S. gay rights organization. Founded by Henry Gerber, it was quickly shut down after a member's wife alerted police. Gerber was arrested for 'obscenity.'

On this day, bisexual activist Brenda Howard was born. Known as the 'Mother of Pride,' she organized the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March and originated the idea of a week-long Pride celebration.

On this day in 1990, openly lesbian actress Pat Bond died at 65. She spent four decades on stage as a visible queer woman, survived military purges, and became a beloved icon of Bay Area lesbian culture.

On this day, Rev. Brent Hawkes read the banns of marriage for a gay and a lesbian couple at MCC Toronto, invoking ancient Christian tradition to challenge modern exclusion.

On this day in 2012, the Serbian Parliament approved changes to its Penal Code, adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes for hate crime prosecutions. Legal protection in a challenging region.

On this day, Queen Elizabeth issued Alan Turing a royal pardon. The father of computer science and WWII code-breaker had been convicted of gross indecency for being gay and died of cyanide poisoning in 1954.