This Day in Queer History

On this day, Elton John was born. With over 300 million records sold, he came out in Rolling Stone in 1978 and married David Furnish in 2014, becoming one of the world's most visible queer icons.

On this day in 1955, Gene Walsh was born. He became the first FDNY firefighter to publicly come out on the job and founded FireFlag, an organization supporting LGBT fire and emergency services personnel.

On this day, Susie Bright was born. A pioneering sex-positive feminist, author, and editor, she wrote extensively about bisexuality, lesbian life, and sexual politics, with her papers now held at Cornell University.

On this day in 1963, Danton Remoto was born. A Filipino writer, professor, and chair emeritus of Ang Ladlad, he helped build the Philippines' first LGBT political party.

Today in queer history, Sheryl Swoopes was born. The three-time WNBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist came out publicly, becoming one of the highest-profile athletes in a team sport to do so.

On this day, Andrew Scott Goldstein was born. He became the first openly gay American male team-sport professional athlete, coming out in 2003 and playing Major League Lacrosse for the Long Island Lizards.

On this day, the Oscars made history: The Times of Harvey Milk won Best Documentary and its director thanked his partner before nearly a billion viewers, while Vanessa Redgrave earned a Best Actress nod for a lesbian role.

On this day, Robert Joffrey, founder of the Joffrey Ballet, died of AIDS at 57. With his lover and co-founder Gerald Arpino, he built a company renowned for imaginative modern ballet and exuberant young dancers.