Journalist Anna Rüling, was born on this day in 1880. In 1904 she gave a speech to the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee in Berlin, the first known public statement of the socio-legal problems faced by lesbians. Her actual name was Theodora “Theo” Anna Sprüngli. One of the first modern women to come out as homosexual, she has been described as […]
Tony Abbott puts forward the idea of a plebiscite for marriage equality On August 11th 2015, division within the Coalition over the issue of marriage equality came to a head. The Abbott government’s policy was that marriage would strictly only be between a man and a woman, but as country after country around the globe […]
In 1986 New Zealand decriminalised homosexuality On this day in 1986 New Zealand passed the Homosexual Law Reform Act that decriminalized homosexuality removing British colonial laws. The country had adopted English laws in in 1840 which made homosexual acts punishable by death. In 1893 the laws were broadened so that even consensual sexual activity between […]
Born John Orton on New Year’s Day in 1933, Orton would adopt the name Joe and go on to become a well known playwright for his scandalous black comedies which included Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, Funeral Games and What The Butler Saw. Orton’s theatrical career, and life, was cut short in August 1967 when he was murdered by […]
In 1984 Greg Louganis won his first gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics On this day in 1984 American diver Greg Louganis won his first Olympic gold medal for the Men’s 3-metre springboard at the Los Angeles Olympics. A few days later he went on to win another gold for the 10-metre platform. The […]
Victorian Police raid Tasty, resulting in a $10 million lawsuit On the 7th of August 1994, dozens of police officers entered the Tasty club night in Melbourne, then detained and strip searched, and in some cases cavity searched, 463 people over seven hours. Tasty was a regular club night that was known as a popular […]
Author James Baldwin was born in 1924 James Baldwin was born on this day in 1924 in Harlem New York City. Baldwin would become a celebrated author whose characters often sought acceptance into society. He included gay and bisexual men as characters in many of this works. Baldwin wrote essays, plays and novels and his […]
The acronym AIDS is first proposed in 1982 On this day is in 1982 the acronym A.I.D.S. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is first proposed at a meeting in Washington. The meeting brought together leaders of the LGBT communities, health experts and people from the US Centre for Disease Control who agreed that the term G.R.I.D. […]
On September 8th, in 1975, US airman and Vietnam veteran Leonard Matlovich became the first serving member of the US military to purposefully ‘out’ himself. Matlovich also became the first openly gay person to appear on the cover of a major weekly magazine in the USA. The groundbreaking issue of TIME magazine revealed Matlovich as […]
In 1982 France removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders On this day in 1982 France removed homosexuality from the official list of mental disorders, and equalised the age of consent. The World Health Organisation would not remove the mental health classification until 1990. Homosexuality had generally been legal in France since the French […]
