This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1868, Magnus Hirschfeld was born. The German sexologist founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, the world's first organization to advocate for homosexual and transgender rights.

On this day, Julian Eltinge was born. He'd become one of the highest-paid actors in America and the greatest female impersonator of the early 20th century, dazzling audiences from Broadway to Buckingham Palace.

On this day, Magnus Hirschfeld founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Berlin, the first-ever gay rights organization. It campaigned for social recognition and the repeal of Paragraph 175, launching the modern fight for LGBTQ+ equality.

On this day, Magnus Hirschfeld published Die Transvestiten in Berlin. His groundbreaking study of gender variant people used the term to describe a far wider range of sexual and gender variation than cross-dressing alone.

On this day, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld co-founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin, a pioneering research institute. The Nazis ransacked it in 1933, burning thousands of books and closing it forever.

On this day in 1930, Maria Irene Fornes was born. The Cuban-American avant-garde playwright led Off-Off-Broadway's 1960s revolution. Her relationship with Susan Sontag inspired her to start writing plays that fearlessly examined the human condition.

On this day, Canada decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults, a landmark step forward that reshaped the country's relationship with its LGBTQ citizens.

On this day in 1970, Gay Liberation Front activists disrupted an APA session advocating electroshock "therapy" to cure homosexuality. Three years later, the APA would declassify homosexuality as a mental illness.

On this day, Bella Abzug and Ed Koch introduced the first national gay civil rights bill in Congress, seeking to add sexual orientation to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Decades later, the fight continues.

On this day in 2013, Brazil's National Council of Justice ruled 4-1 to allow same-sex marriage nationwide, opening the door to legal recognition for countless couples across Latin America's largest nation.