This Day in Queer History

On this day, Somerset Maugham was born in Paris. One of the highest-paid writers of the 1930s, he spent decades hiding his homosexuality, later admitting he was three-quarters queer all along.

On this day in 1882, Virginia Woolf was born. The modernist icon's greatest love was Vita Sackville-West, inspiring Orlando, considered one of the most beautiful love poems in the English language.

On this day, Aaron Fricke was born. He made history by successfully suing his high school for the right to bring his boyfriend to prom, then wrote about it in Reflections of a Rock Lobster.

On this day in 2005, Alameda County, California voted 4-0 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in public-sector employment, services, and facilities, expanding protections for transgender residents.

On this day, the first LGBTQ-specific intimate partner violence survey was released, revealing that sexual minority people experience domestic violence at rates equal to or higher than heterosexuals.

On this day in 2012, Air Force Col. Ginger Wallace became the first openly gay service member to have a same-sex partner participate in a military pinning ceremony. Her partner Kathy Knopf pinned her colonel wings after DADT's repeal.