This Day in Queer History

On this day, the Chevalier d'Eon was formally presented to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as a woman. The French diplomat and spy lived 49 years as a man and 33 as a woman, defying gender in the 18th century.

On this day, Cherry Jones was born. The five-time Tony nominee and two-time winner thanked her partner Mary O'Connor onstage in 1995, and later thanked Sarah Paulson in 2005. She married filmmaker Sophie Huber in 2015.

On this day in 1966, the term 'gender identity' was first used in a press release for a new clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The media picked it up, and the concept quickly became common currency worldwide.

On this day, NYPD Sergeant Charles Cochrane stunned a city council hearing by declaring, "I am equally proud of being gay," leading to the formation of the Gay Officers Action League, the world's first LGBT police fraternal society.

On this day in 1997, the University of California Board of Regents voted to extend domestic partner benefits to lesbian and gay employees, advancing workplace equality across one of the nation's largest university systems.

On this day, Quentin Crisp died at 90. A fearless English raconteur who lived flamboyantly and unapologetically, he turned his queer existence into art, wit, and a celebrated one-man show.

On this day in 2001, Maryland's Anti-Discrimination Act became law, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, and public accommodations. The twelfth state to act.

On this day in 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court recognized international same-sex marriages, extending legal acknowledgment to couples who married abroad.

On this day in 2007, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm issued an executive order banning employment discrimination based on gender identity in the public sector, expanding protections for trans workers.