Feature Story
The 40th Anniversary of Stonewall
On Friday evening, June 27, 1969, the New York City tactical police force raided a popular Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. Raids were not unusual in 1969; in fact, they were conducted regularly without much resistance. However, that night the street erupted into violent protest as the crowds in the bar fought back. The backlash and several nights of protest that followed have been commonly considered the birth of the modern-day LGBT civil rights movement.
LGBT News from Advocate.com
Loading Headlines...
Search the globe to find Pride events near you.
The Last Century in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History
1908
Magnus Hirschfeld oversees the first large-scale survey of sexual preferences and finds that 2.2 percent of male respondents openly report having had homosexual relations. He was later commonly referred to as "The Einstein of Sex."
1915
On a speaking tour across the U.S., Emma Goldman defends homosexuality, drawing a large following and becoming one of the most outspoken advocates for gays and lesbians in the country.1922
A passage from Gertrude Stein's "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene" is possibly the first traceable published use of the word "gay" to refer to a homosexual relationship.1924
The first gay rights organization in America - the Society for Human Rights - is founded in Chicago. The group exists only for a few months before being disbanded by the police.1928
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall is published in the United States. This sparks great legal controversy and brings the topic of homosexuality into public conversation.1937
The pink triangle is first used to identify gay men in Nazi concentration camps.
1945
Upon the liberation of Nazi concentration camps by Allied forces, those interned for homosexuality are not freed, but required to serve out the full term of their sentences under Paragraph 175.1946
"COC" (the Dutch acronym for "Center for Culture and Recreation") is founded in the Netherlands. It is the oldest surviving LGBT organization.1947
Vice Versa, the first North American LGBT magazine, is written and self-published by Edith Eyde, a.k.a. Lisa Ben (an anagram of "lesbian"), in Los Angeles.
1948
The first Kinsey Report is published, and its research findings show that 10% of American males were exclusively homosexual, challenging conventional beliefs about sexuality. In Denmark, Forbundet af 1948 (League of 1948), a gay and lesbian rights group, is formed.1950
The Mattachine Society, the first permanent American gay rights group, is founded in Los Angeles. The "lavender scare" begins when 190 individuals in the United States are dismissed from government employment due to their sexual orientation.1955
Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S., is created in San Francisco, California. Its founders, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, were the first same-sex couple to be legally married in California, 53 years later.
1957
The word "transsexual" is coined by U.S. physician Harry Benjamin. The Wolfenden report recommends decriminalizing consensual homosexual behaviour between adults in the United Kingdom. Psychologist Evelyn Hooker publishes a study showing that gay men are no different in social adjustment than heterosexual men.1961
Jose Sarria becomes the first openly gay political candidate in the world when he runs for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, California.1962
Illinois becomes first U.S. state to remove laws punishing homosexuality from its criminal code.1966
The Compton's Cafeteria riot, the first recorded group act of transgender civil disobedience in U.S., occurs in San Francisco.
1967
The book Homosexual Behavior Among Males by Wainwright Churchill breaks ground as a scientific study approaching homosexuality as a fact of life. The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, the world's first gay and lesbian oriented bookstore, opens in New York City. Our World, the first Latino-American homosexual group, is created in Argentina. The Student Homophile League at Columbia University is the first institutionally recognized gay student group in the U.S.1969
In New York City, on June 28, a series of violent conflicts occur between LGBT people and police officers following a police raid on a gay bar. Called the Stonewall riots, these are widely recognized as the catalyst for the modern-day movement toward LGBT rights.
1970
In commemoration of the anniversary of Stonewall one year earlier, the first Gay Liberation Day marches are held in New York City and Chicago. The first Gay Freedom Day march is held in Los Angeles. The first "Gay-In" is held in San Francisco. These events later transformed into the annual "gay pride" celebrations in cities around the world.1971
Dr. Frank Kameny becomes the first openly gay candidate for the U.S. Congress. The University of Michigan establishes the first collegiate LGBT programs office, then known as the "Gay Advocate's Office."
1972
Sweden becomes first country in the world to allow transsexuals to legally change their sex and provides free hormone therapy. East Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and San Francisco, California, become the first cities in the United States to pass gay rights ordinances.1973
The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II), based largely on the research and advocacy of Alfred Kinsey and Evelyn Hooker.1974
Kathy Kozachenko becomes the first openly gay American elected to public office when she wins a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, city council.1977
Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction in the world larger than a city or county to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the public and private sectors.1978
San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White. The rainbow flag is first used as a symbol of gay pride.
1979
The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights is held, drawing over 75,000 people in the name of equal rights.1980
At the Democratic National Convention, Democrats become the first major political party in America to endorse a gay rights platform plank. The Human Rights Campaign Fund is founded by Steve Endean to advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality.1981
Norway becomes the first country in the world to enact a law to prevent discrimination against homosexuals.1982
The first Gay Games is held in San Francisco. Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians.1984
Berkeley, California, becomes the first city in the U.S. to adopt a program of domestic partnership health benefits for city employees.1985
The first memorial to gay Holocaust victims is dedicated in Amsterdam, commemorating gay men and lesbians subjected to persecution because of their homosexuality. Other large memorials were later created in Berlin, Montevideo, and San Francisco.
1987
ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, stages its first major demonstration.
1988
Sweden is the first country to pass laws protecting gay and lesbian rights regarding social services, taxes, and inheritances.1989
Denmark is the first country in the world to enact registered partnership laws (like civil unions) for same-sex couples, granting many of the same rights as marriage, excluding the right to adoption and the right to marriage in a church.
1994
The American Medical Association (AMA) denounces supposed cures for homosexuality. Canada grants refugee status to homosexuals who fear for their well-being in their native countries. The Nazi's Paragraph 175 is finally repealed in Germany.1997
South Africa becomes the first country in the world to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution.1999
California adopts a domestic partnership law. France enacts civil union laws.2000
Germany's Bundestag officially apologizes to gays and lesbians persecuted under the Nazi regime and for "harm done to homosexual citizens up to 1969." Vermont becomes the first U.S. state to legalize civil unions.2001
Same-sex marriage is legalized in the Netherlands, making it the first country to do so.
2002
Sweden legalizes adoption for same-sex couples. Homosexuality is decriminalized in China. A civil unions law is passed in Buenos Aires, making it the first Latin-American city to legalize same-sex unions.
2003
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Lawrence v. Texas holds that consensual homosexuality is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. This means that any remaining U.S. state and local laws criminalizing homosexuality are invalidated. Same-sex marriage is legalized in Belgium.2004
Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage, becoming the first U.S. state to do so, while through public referendums eleven other U.S. states ban the practice. On March 16, Rhea County, Tennessee, commissioner J.C. Fugate prompts a vote to ban homosexuals. The measure passes unanimously, but is withdrawn two days later. Several of the commissioners who voted for the resolution are voted out of office. In protest of the measure, a "Gay Day in Rhea" is held.2005
New Zealand is the first nation in the world to outlaw hate crimes and ban employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Same-sex marriage is legalized in Spain and Canada (along with adoption in Canada). South Africa's Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional to ban gay marriages, legalizing same-sex marriage effective December 1, 2006.2007
The first ever public gay pride parade in a Muslim country is held in Istanbul, Turkey. On August 9, 2007, the Logo cable channel hosts the first U.S. presidential forum focusing specifically on LGBT issues. Six Democratic Party candidates participate in the event.2008
In June, California legalizes same-sex marriage when the state Supreme Court rules existing law prohibiting the practice is unconstitutional. Proposition 8 is passed by California voters the following November, rescinding the rights of gays and lesbians to civil marriage.2009
Same-sex marriage is legalized in Norway and Sweden and in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. To this day, over 80 countries, primarily in Africa and South Asia, have yet to decriminalize homosexuality.
Make a Difference
Find LGBT nonprofit groups in your area that can benefit from your support.
Date Finder
Find your perfect match on Yahoo! Personals.
