Poet Walt Whitman was born in 1819 Poet Walt Whitman was born on this day in 1819, described as the father of free verse his poetry was controversial in it’s day for its over sexuality and he often wrote about love between men. His most acclaimed work is Leaves of Grass a collection of poems […]
Transgender trailblazer Christine Jorgensen was born in 1926 Christine Jorgensen was born on this day, she was the first American to undergo gender reassignment surgery. After being drafted into the military and serving in World War II Jorgensen heard news about the new medical procedures of gender reassignment surgery. She traveled to Europe and in Copenhagen, Denmark, […]
Author Alan Hollinghurst celebrates his birthday Author Alan Hollinghurst celebrates his 66th birthday today. The author won the 2004 Man Booker Prize for his novel In The Line of Beauty which told the story of a young gay man and his contemporaries from university against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain in the 1980s. The book was […]
Oscar Wilde was found guilty of gross indecency and sentenced to two years hard labor. On this day in 1895 author Oscar Wilde was found guilty of gross indecency and sentenced to two years imprisonment. At the time Wilde was at the height of his career having found success with novels and plays including The Importance […]
On This Gay Day: The first report about HIV/AIDS was published in 1981 It’s often reported that the first information about what would later be identified as HIV/AIDS was when on 5 June 1981 the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention published a notice about gay men who had died rare, and usually curable […]
On this day in 1980 the movie Fame was released into cinemas across America. The film would go on to inspire a television series that ran for six seasons and a 2009 remake that didn’t have the same impact of the original. Fame focuses on the lives of students at the New York School of Performing Arts, […]
Author Armistead Maupin was born on this day in 1944 and is celebrating his 76th birthday today. Maupin is best known for his Tales of the City novels which have also been turned into a series of television programs. First published as a column in the San Francisco Chronicle. The series encompasses nine hugely popular novels: Tales […]
10th May 1972: Academic George Duncan is murdered in Adelaide Dr George Duncan was a law academic at Adelaide University, in 1972 he was attacked and thrown into the River Torrens, where he drowned. The public outrage over his death lead to the push for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and in 1975 South Australia became […]
Stephen Sondheim celebrates his 90th birthday Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is celebrating his birthday, he was born 90 years ago in New York. Sondheim’s Broadway career kicked off in 1957 when he provided the lyrics for West Side Story, while Leonard Bernstein composed the musical score. Sondheim would go on to write many successful Broadway shows […]
Joel Grey turns 88 Actor Joel Grey turns 88 years old today. The actor is best known for his role as the Emcee in the stage and movie version of the film Cabaret. Grey has been the original actor in many well known musicals, he was the first person to play the Wizard of Oz […]
