This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1826, Stephen Foster was born. Known as the "father of American music," the legendary songwriter likely left his wife for fellow composer George Cooper, a story his family worked to erase.

On this day in 1855, Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass, a poetic masterwork now celebrated as one of the most open expressions of same-sex desire in American literature.

On this day, America the Beautiful was published. Its author, Katharine Lee Bates, was a Wellesley professor who lived with Katharine Coman as 'one soul together' for twenty-five years.

On this day in 1965, conservatively dressed lesbians and gay men picketed Independence Hall in Philadelphia for gay rights. Known as the Annual Reminder, it continued through 1969.

On this day in 1970, the Unitarian Universalist Association became the first mainstream U.S. religious group to recognize gay, lesbian, and bisexual clergy and demand an end to all discrimination against homosexuals.

On this day, the Seattle Lesbian Separatist Group issued The Amazon Analysis, a nearly 100-page manifesto of lesbian separatism that was passed among lesbians across the country.

On this day in 1975, the New Democratic Party Gay Caucus was formed at the NDP national convention in Winnipeg, creating organized queer political space within Canadian party politics.

On this day, Soni Wolf founded Dykes on Bikes, leading a group of lesbian motorcyclists at the head of the San Francisco Pride Parade and launching a tradition that roared across the world.