This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1414, the future Pope Sixtus IV was born. Later chronicled as a lover of boys who traded bishoprics for favors, he also founded the Sistine Chapel and transformed Rome's artistic landscape.

On this day, poet Hart Crane was born. Called 'a Dionysian ecstatic from Cleveland,' he tied his sexuality to his poetic vocation and produced masterworks like The Bridge before his suicide at 32.

On this day in 1977, Ontario's Human Rights Code Review Committee released its report Life Together, calling for strong inclusion of sexual orientation in the province's civil rights protections.

On this day in 1980, Italian activist Enso Francone chained himself to a fence in Red Square during the Moscow Olympics to protest Soviet persecution of homosexuals. KGB officers dragged him away.

On this day, Rep. Barney Frank addressed the House for one hour about a Justice Department memo that misrepresented AIDS medical evidence, calling it an invitation to discriminate against gay Americans.

On this day in 1988, Michael Dukakis officially became the Democratic presidential candidate and promised during his acceptance speech to do more in the fight against AIDS.

On this day, Waheed Alli took his seat in the House of Lords as the youngest and first openly gay Muslim life peer in Britain. The media entrepreneur is a patron of both Oxford Pride and Pride London.

On this day, the Lesbian Health Initiative in Houston received a $50,000 grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The funding recognized that lesbian health needs deserved dedicated attention and resources.

On this day in 1999, activists in Guadalajara met to form a Gay/Lesbian Pride Committee and join the national and international pride movement, expanding LGBTQ+ organizing in Mexico.

On this day, President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting job discrimination against LGBT people in federal employment, extending workplace protections to millions of queer Americans.