This Day in Queer History

On this day, Washington Redskins linebacker Dave Kopay agreed to come out in a newspaper series on homosexuality in sports. He became the first major professional athlete to publicly acknowledge being gay.

On this day in 1975, a six-inch headline in the Minneapolis Star declared State Senator Allen Spear homosexual. Inspired by Elaine Noble's election, Spear came out publicly and served nearly thirty years in the Minnesota Senate.

On this day, Republican Judge Ray Warren came out as gay in a press conference, becoming the first openly gay Republican elected official in North Carolina.

On this day, Brokeback Mountain opened in limited release. Ang Lee's sweeping love story between two men, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, went on to win multiple Academy Awards.

On this day in 2013, Luma Nogueira de Andrade became Brazil's first transgender university professor. Already the first trans person to earn a doctorate in Brazil, her appointment shattered academic barriers across Latin America.