British MP Maureen Colquhoun was born on this day in 1928
In 1974, Maureen Colquhoun made history when she became the first openly lesbian woman elected to the British Parliament.
Born Maureen Smith in 1928, she was raised in a politically active household in Eastbourne. After completing her education at the London School of Economics, she worked as a literary research assistant.
In 1950, she married Keith Colquhoun and the couple had three children.
She first ran for Parliament as a Labour Party candidate at the 1970 election but was unsuccessful. From 1971 to 1974, she served as a councillor in Shoreham-by-Sea, where she was the only woman on the council.
In 1973, she left her husband and began a relationship with Barbara “Babs” Todd, publisher of Sappho magazine. The couple remained together until Todd’s death in 2020.
At the 1974 general election, Colquhoun was elected to Parliament. During her time at Westminster, she campaigned for greater gender equality, highlighting that the majority of appointments made by government ministers were held by men.
She also introduced a bill to decriminalise prostitution, arriving at Parliament with 50 sex workers to launch the campaign. Colquhoun also earned a place in the history books as the first person to request being addressed as “Ms” in Parliament.
Her parliamentary career came to an end in 1979 when she was deselected by her local Labour Party branch. Members reportedly complained they had selected a married mother of three but discovered she was a lesbian.
“She was elected as a working wife and mother … this business has blackened her image irredeemably,” local party chair Norman Ashby was quoted as saying.
Despite losing preselection, Colquhoun remained in Westminster, working as an assistant to other MPs. She later served on Hackney London Borough Council from 1982 to 1990.
Maureen Colquhoun died aged 92 on 2 February 2021.
Katherine Lee Bates was born in 1859
Poet, author and academic Katherine Lee Bates was born on this day in 1859. While she wrote extensively on social reform and published numerous books, it is her poetry that remains her enduring legacy.
In 1895, her poem America was first published. Bates later revised the work several times, and it eventually became known as America the Beautiful. The poem was paired with the hymn tune Materna, composed by church organist Samuel A. Ward. Despite creating one of America’s most beloved patriotic songs, Bates and Ward never met.
Ward died in 1903, before the song achieved the widespread popularity it enjoys today. Bates lived until 1929 and witnessed America the Beautiful become firmly established in American culture.
Bates was a Professor of English Literature at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she lived with her close friend and companion, Katherine Coman. Historians have debated the nature of their relationship. Some letters have been interpreted as evidence of a romantic relationship, while others have described their partnership as a “Boston marriage”, a term commonly used for two financially independent women who lived together in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Harvey Milk posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
In 2019 Harvey Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award is the highest civilian honour in the USA.
The award was received by his nephew Stuart Milk and was presented by President Barack Obama.
On the same day the same ward was given to Chita Rivera, Sidney Poitier, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Billie Jean King, Stephen Hawking, Sandra Day O’Connor and several other high achieving individuals.
Milk was one of the first openly gay people to be elected to public office in California. After three unsuccessful campaigns he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978.
During his eleven months in office Milk helped pass a string of ordinances that helped the LGBT community in San Francisco.
In November 1978 he was assassinated by Dan White, another supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. White also shot and killed the city’s Mayor George Moscone.
Sean Penn won the Academy Award for his portrayal of the politician in the biopic Milk. The film’s screenwriter Dustin Lance Black also picked up an Oscar.
“Rights are won only by those who make their voices heard.” is one of many quotes attributed to Milk. He also advocated for all LGBTIQ+ people to come out and be proud of their sexuality.
Prior to his assassination Milk had been receiving a lot of death threats. He recorded his thoughts on tape recording his ‘political will’ saying; “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”.
OIP Staff, This post was first published in 2021 has been updated.
