This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1882, Dr. William Hammond presented a paper to the American Neurological Association on gender identity, citing Native Americans who lived as the opposite sex as examples.

On this day, Alfred Kinsey was born. The biologist founded the Institute for Sex Research and published the Kinsey Reports, forever changing how America understood human sexuality with science over stigma.

On this day in 1912, Alan Turing was born near London. The father of computer science cracked Nazi codes that helped win WWII, only to be prosecuted for homosexuality and driven to his death. He was pardoned in 2013.

On this day in 1948, Axel Axgil founded F-48, Denmark's first gay society. Decades later, Axgil and partner Eigil became the first same-sex couple to register a partnership anywhere in the world, a bond sealed in their shared surname.

On this day, Mattachine Society co-founder Dale Jennings admitted in court that he was gay and accused the arresting officer of entrapment. The jury deadlocked, the case was dismissed, and queer legal strategy was born.

On this day in 1957, theater director John Tasker wrote to novelist Colin Spencer confessing his love. Their relationship, which began in Brighton, became the basis for Spencer's memoir Which of Us Two.

On this day, activists organized SOHO, the country's first national network of lesbian and gay organizations, building crucial infrastructure for a movement demanding coordinated national action.

On this day, the Gay Officers Action League hosted the first International Conference of Gay and Lesbian Criminal Justice Professionals in New York City, uniting LGBTQ law enforcement from around the world.

On this day, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 13160, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in federally conducted education and training programs. It marked a significant step toward federal LGBTQ+ protections.

On this day, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws nationwide in Lawrence v. Texas, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every state and overturning the 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick ruling.

On this day in 2003, Pink Triangle Park was dedicated in San Francisco's Castro district, becoming the first permanent U.S. memorial honoring LGBTQ+ victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

On this day, NBC announced that same-sex couples were eligible for Today Throws a Hometown Wedding, bringing queer love into one of America's most-watched morning television traditions.

On this day in 2005, a Missouri high school promised the ACLU it would stop censoring students wearing t-shirts supporting gay rights. Webb City High School students won back their First Amendment freedom of expression.