This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1890, Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev. Hailed as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century, his love affair with choreographer Diaghilev and his eventual madness made him a legend.

On this day, Edward Albee was born. The playwright behind Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won three Pulitzers and insisted: 'I am not a gay writer. I am a writer who happens to be gay.'

On this day in 1976, Jimmy Carter told a Los Angeles audience he would issue an executive order banning discrimination against gay people in housing, employment, immigration, and the military if elected president.

On this day in 1981, MCC pastor Brent Hawkes ended a 25-day hunger fast after Toronto City Council agreed to investigate police-gay relations. His fast pressured the city to address abuses stemming from the brutal bathhouse raids.

On this day, the European Parliament approved its first resolution supporting lesbian and gay rights. Based on a report from Italian member Vera Squarcialupi, the resolution marked a continental shift toward equality.

On this day, Larry Kramer and 300 activists formed ACT UP in New York City. The direct-action group transformed AIDS activism with confrontational tactics that demanded the world pay attention to a crisis it preferred to ignore.

On this day in 1995, a same-sex couple married in the Cambodian village of Kro Bao Ach Kok. About 250 guests attended, including Buddhist monks and provincial officials, celebrating love without borders.