This Day in Queer History

On this day in 1940, Althea Garrison was born. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1992, she became the first known transgender person to serve in a U.S. state legislature.

On this day in 1959, Pillow Talk opened in theaters, starring Doris Day and closeted gay actor Rock Hudson. It became the second highest-grossing film of the decade and an enduring piece of queer Hollywood history.

On this day in 1967, The Advocate began publication. It remains the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the U.S. and the only one of its kind founded before the Stonewall Riots.

On this day in 1975, Elton John told Rolling Stone he was bisexual. The iconic musician later came out as gay, married David Furnish, and became one of the most visible champions of LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.

On this day in 1981, the Dykes in the Street march in Toronto became the city's first lesbian pride march, sponsored by Lesbians Against the Right. Visibility was the revolution.

On this day in 1983, Steve Dyer founded soc.motss, the first explicitly LGBTQ+ internet newsgroup. The name stood for "members of the same sex," chosen to avoid censorship. Possibly the first queer international space of any kind.

On this day in 1993, the AFL-CIO unanimously approved a resolution to actively oppose attempts to repeal gay rights laws. Organized labor stood with queer workers.

On this day in 2014, transgender activist Audrey Mbugua won a landmark case in Kenya, forcing the National Examinations Council to change her name and gender marker on her academic diploma.