Timeline of LGBT history

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This timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history details notable events in the Common Era West.

[edit] 25th/24th century BCE

[edit] 7th century BCE

  • 630 BCE Dorian aristocrats in Crete adopt formal relations between adult princes and adolescent boys, with the double aim to educate the youths and curb population growth. The practice, associated with gymnasia and athletic nudity, quickly spreads throughout much of ancient Greece, influencing sports, literature, politics, philosophy, art and warfare, and leading, according to some, to a flowering of culture known as the Greek miracle.[2][3]

[edit] 6th century BCE

[edit] 4th century BCE

  • 338 BCE The Sacred Band of Thebes, an undefeated elite batallion made up of one hundred and fifty pederastic couples is destroyed by the forces of Philip II of Macedon who bemoans their loss and defends their honor.

[edit] 1st century

  • 54 - Nero becomes Emperor of Rome. Nero married two men in legal ceremonies, with at least one spouse accorded the same honours as an empress.[2] Gay relationships are accepted and institutionalized in this time period. [3]

[edit] 4th century

[edit] 6th century

[edit] 7th century

  • 650 - In early medieval Visigothic Spain, there is great persecution of scapegoats in an attempt to unite the Hispano-Roman majority with the Visigothic minority. These scapegoats include most notably gays and Jews. Homosexuality is criminalized. However, outside of Spain, homosexuality remains completely legal, and even relatively accepted, in almost all of Europe.

[edit] 9th century

  • 800-900 - During the Carolingian Renaissance, there is a large amount of complex gay poetry. There is no Carolingian law prohibiting homosexuality.

[edit] 11th century

  • 1000-1100 - An eleventh century Byzantine legal treatise makes it clear that gay unions are well-known and legal in early medieval Byzantine society.
  • 1000-1100 - In Scandinavia, cult transvestitism persisted for centuries. As well, only sons who inherited their fathers’ land could marry in early medieval Scandinavia. The others had to leave the land, and they joined warrior societies. Women, expected to remain strictly chaste, and punished severely for violating this rule, were unavailable. Thus, in these warriors clubs, pederasty was practiced as an institutionalized way of life, and a viable alternative to the untouchable women.
  • 1051 - St. Peter Damian composed the Book of Gomorrah, in which he luridly described several varieties of gay sex, and said that they were quite common, especially among priests. In this regard he was quite correct; nevertheless, he had no luck convincing his contemporaries that homosexuality was a grave problem that had to be stopped. While Pope Leo IX saw homosexuality as a "grave sin", he was nevertheless reluctant to come down as harshly as Peter Damian wanted him to.
  • 1100 - Ivo of Chartres attempts to convince Pope Urban II of the dangers of homosexuality. Ivo charged that Raoul/Ralph, Archbishop of Tours, had the king of France install John as bishop of Orleans. John was well-known as Ralph’s lover, and had even had relations with the king himself, which the king openly bragged about. Urban, however, did not see this as a major problem. John ruled effectively as bishop for almost forty years and Ralph was well-known and well-respected, and continued to be so.

[edit] 12th century

  • 1102 - The Council of London took measures to ensure that the public, quite tolerant of homosexuality at the time, knew that it was sinful, marking a significant shift in church attitudes towards homosexuality, which previously had been more or less indifference, or very mild condemnation. Many priests were homosexuals, likely one of the causes of the change in attitude, as moral reformers such as Bernard of Cluny called for change.

[edit] 13th century

  • 1250-1300 - "Between 1250 and 1300, homosexual activity passed from being completely legal in most of Europe to incurring the death penalty in all but a few contemporary legal compilations." - John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980)

[edit] 14th century

  • 1327 - The deposed King Edward II of England is allegedly sodomized to death with a red-hot poker. Edward II, a well-known homosexual had a history of conflict with the nobility, who repeatedly banished his former lover Piers Gaveston, the Earl of Cornwall.

[edit] 16th century

[edit] 17th century

  • 1624 - Richard Cornish of the Virginia Colony is tried and hanged for sodomy.
  • 1649 - The first known conviction for lesbian activity in North America occurs in March when Sarah White Norman is charged with "Lewd behaviour" with Mary Vincent Hammon in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

[edit] 18th century

  • 1726 - Mother Clap's molly house in London is raided by police, resulting in Clap's death and the execution at Tyburn of all the men arrested
  • Between 1730 and 1811, a widespread panic in the Dutch Republic leads to a spectacular series of trials for sodomy, with persecutions at their most severe from 1730 to 1737, 1764, 1776, and from 1795-1798.
  • 1792 - France decriminalizes sexual acts between men.
  • 1795 - Belgium decriminalizes homosexual acts.

[edit] 19th century

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, 1825-1895, the pioneer of the LGBT rights movement
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Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, 1825-1895, the pioneer of the LGBT rights movement
Magnus Hirschfeld, 1868-1935, was a prominent German physician, sexologist, and gay rights advocate.
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Magnus Hirschfeld, 1868-1935, was a prominent German physician, sexologist, and gay rights advocate.
Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900
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Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

[edit] 1900s

  • 1907 - Adolf Brand, the activist leader of the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, working to overturn Paragraph 175, publishes a piece "outing" the imperial chancellor of Germany, Prince Bernhard von Bülow. The Prince sues Brand for libel and clears his name; Brand is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

[edit] 1910s

  • 1910 - Emma Goldman first begins speaking publicly in favor of gay rights.
May 14, 1928 issue of German lesbian periodical Die freundin
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May 14, 1928 issue of German lesbian periodical Die freundin
  • 1912 - Portugal re-criminalizes homosexual acts.
  • 1913 - The word faggot is first used in print in reference to gays in a vocabulary of criminal slang published in Portland, Oregon: "All the fagots [sic] (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight".

[edit] 1920s

  • 1920 - The word Gay is used for the first time in reference to homosexual in the Underground.
  • 1921 - In England an attempt to make lesbianism illegal for the first time in Britain's history fails.
  • 1923 - Palestine (West Bank only), Panama, Paraguay and Peru legalise homosexuality; The word fag is first used in print in reference to gays in Nels Anderson's The Hobo: "Fairies or Fags are men or boys who exploit sex for profit."
  • 1924 - The first gay rights organization in America is founded in Chicago and is called the Society for Human Rights. The movement exists for a few months before being shut down 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 to public conversation.
  • 1929 May 22 - Katharine Lee Bates, author of America the Beautiful dies.
  • 1929 October 16 - a Reichstag Committee votes to repeal Paragraph 175. The Nazis' rise to power prevents the implementation of the vote.

[edit] 1930s

[edit] 1940s

  • 1941 - Transsexuality was first used in reference to homosexuality and bisexuality.
  • 1942 - In Switzerland male-to-male sex is legalised with the age of consent set at 20.
  • 1943 - Surinam decriminalizes homosexuality
  • 1944 - Sweden decriminalizes homosexuality
Pink triangle prisoner Erwin Schimitzek, interned in Auschwitz in 1941, died in 1942.
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Pink triangle prisoner Erwin Schimitzek, interned in Auschwitz in 1941, died in 1942.
  • 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; Portugal decriminalises homosexuality for the second time in its history.
  • 1946 - "COC" (Dutch acronym for "Center for Culture and Recreation"), the earliest homophile organisation, is founded in the Netherlands. It is the oldest surviving LGBT organization.
  • 1947 - Vice Versa, the first North American LGBT publication, is written and self-published by Edith Eyde in Los Angeles.
  • 1948 - "Forbundet af 1948" ("League of 1948"), a homophile group, is formed in Denmark.

[edit] 1950s

Alan Turing is often considered the father of modern computer science.
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Alan Turing is often considered the father of modern computer science.

[edit] 1960s

  • 1961 - Czechoslovakia and Hungary decriminalize homosexuality.
  • 1962 - Illinois becomes first U.S. state to remove sodomy law from its criminal code.
  • 1963 - Israel decriminalizes de-facto sodomy and sexual acts between men by judicial decision against the enforcement of the relevant section in the old British-mandate law from 1936 (which in fact was never enforced).
  • 1966 - The National Planning Conference of Homophile Organizations is established (to became NACHO - North American Conference of Homophile Organizations - in 1967).
  • 1967 - The Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalises male homosexual behaviour in England and Wales, so long as only two men are involved, both are age 21 or older, neither is mentally retarded, neither is a member of the armed forces or the merchant marines, and neither is a resident of a jurisdiction where male homosexual behaviour is illegal (e.g., Scotland or Northern Ireland); The book "Homosexual Behavior Among Males" by Wainwright Churchill breaks ground as a scientific study approaching homosexuality as a fact of life rather than as a sin, crime or disease, and introduces the term "homoerotophobia", a possible precursor to "homophobia"; The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, the world's first gay and lesbian bookstore, opens in New York City.
  • 1968 - Paragraph 175 is eased in East Germany; Canada repeals all anti-sodomy laws; Bulgaria decriminalize adult homosexual relations.
  • 1969 - The Stonewall riots occur in New York; Paragraph 175 is eased in West Germany; Homosexual behavior legalized in Burkina Faso and Canada with an Age of Consent in Canada and Burkina Faso set at 21 for sodomy, and 14 for non-sodomy in Canada, 13 for non-sodomy in Burkina Faso; Poland decriminalizes homosexual prostitution; The Canadian Prime Minister is quoted as saying: "The government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation"; "FREE", the first gay student group, is formed in the United States at the University of Minnesota; An Australian arm of the Daughters of Bilitis forms in Melbourne and is considered Australia's first gay rights organisation.

[edit] 1970s

The Gay Pride Flag, symbol of the Gay Rights Movement, was first flown in 1978 in San Francisco. This is the current version, flying over the Castro in June 2005
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The Gay Pride Flag, symbol of the Gay Rights Movement, was first flown in 1978 in San Francisco. This is the current version, flying over the Castro in June 2005

[edit] 1980s

  • 1980 - The Democratic National Convention becomes the first major political party in America to endorse a gay rights platform plank; Scotland decriminalizes homosexuality; David McReynolds becomes the first openly GLBT individual to run for President of the United States, appearing on the Socialist Party U S A ticket.
  • 1981 - Victoria, Australia decriminalizes homosexuality with a uniform age of consent; The Moral Majority starts its anti-gay crusade; Norway becomes the first country in the world to enact a law to prevent discrimination against homosexuals; Hong Kong's first sex-change operation is performed.
  • 1982 - France equalizes the age of consent; The first Gay Games is held in San Francisco, attracting 1,600 participants; Northern Ireland decriminalizes homosexuality; Wisconsin becomes the first US state to ban gay discrimination; New South Wales becomes the first Australian state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived homosexuality.
  • 1983 - Massachusetts Representative Gerry Studds reveals he is a homosexual on the floor of the House, becoming the first openly gay member of Congress.
  • 1984 - The lesbian and gay association "Ten Percent Club" is formed in Hong Kong; Massachusetts voters reelect representative Gerry Studds, despite his coming out the year before; New South Wales and the Northern Territory in Australia make homosexual acts legal; Chris Smith, newly elected to the UK parliament declares: "My name is Chris Smith. I'm the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, and I'm gay," making him the first openly out gay politician in the UK parliament.
  • 1985 - France prohibits discrimination based on lifestyle (moeurs) in employment and services; The first memorial to gay Holocaust victims is dedicated.
  • 1986 - Homosexual Law Reform Act passed in New Zealand, legalizing sex between males over 16
  • 1987 - Greece equalizes the age of consent to 15; ACT UP stages its first major demonstration, seventeen protesters are arrested; U.S. Congressman Barney Frank comes out; Homomonument, a memorial to persecuted gays and lesbians, opens in Amsterdam.
  • 1988 - Sweden is the first country to pass laws protecting gays and lesbians regarding social services, taxes, and inheritances. Section 28 passes in England and Wales; Scotland enacts almost identical legislation; Canadian MP Svend Robinson comes out; Canada lowers the age of consent for sodomy to 18; Israel decriminalizes (de jure) sodomy and sexual acts between men (the relevant section in the old British-mandate law from 1936 was never enforced).
  • 1989 - Western Australia legalizes homosexuality for people who are over 21; Denmark is the first country in the world to enact registered partnership laws (like a civil union) for same-sex couples, with most of the same rights as marriage (excluding the right to adoption and the right to marriage in a church).

[edit] 1990s

  • 1990 - OutRage!, an LGBT rights direct action group, forms in the UK.
  • 1991 - Ukraine, Hong Kong and Queensland in Australia decriminalizes sodomy; The red ribbon is first used as a symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  • 1992 - The World Health Organization removes homosexuality from its ICD-10; Australia allows homosexuals to serve in the military for the first time; Isle of man, Estonia and Latvia legalize homosexuality.
  • 1993 - Brandon Teena is raped and murdered; The third gay rights march on Washington, DC is held; Sodomy laws are repealed in the Republic of Ireland; Russia decriminalizes consensual male sodomy (with the exception of the Chechen Republic); Lithuania legalizes homosexuality; Norway enacts registered partnership civil union laws that grant same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, except for the right to adopt or marry in a church.
  • 1994 - South Africa legalizes homosexuality for those over 19; Albania and Gabon legalize homosexuality; The United Kingdom reduces the age of consent for gay men to 18; The AMA denounces supposed cures for homosexuality; Canada grants refugee status to homosexuals fearing for their well-being in their native country; Paragraph 175 is repealed in Germany; Israel’s supreme court defines gay-couple’s rights as the same as any common-law-couple’s rights.
  • 1995 - Sweden legalizes registered partnerships; The Supreme Court of Canada rules that sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • 1996 - The age of consent is equalised in Burkina Faso; Homosexuality is decriminalised in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • 1997 - South Africa becomes the first country to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution and comes into force; The UK extends immigration rights to same-sex couples akin to marriage; Fiji becomes the second country to explicitly protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution; Laws prohibiting private homosexual acts are finally repealed in Tasmania, Australia, the last Australian state to do so.
  • 1998 - Matthew Shepard is slain; The Employment Equality Act is introduced in Ireland, covering wrongful dismissal based on the grounds of sexual orientation; Sexual orientation is read into the IRPA, Alberta's human rights act, through Vriend v. Alberta; Ecuador is the third country in the world to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; Chile decriminalises homosexuality.
  • 1999 - California adopts a domestic partnership law; France enacts civil union laws; The "Queer Youth Alliance" is founded in the UK; Israel’s supreme court recognizes a lesbian partner as another legal mother of her partner’s biological son.

[edit] 2000s

(See individual year page for more info)

  • 2000 - The UK ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces is abolished and Clause 2A is repealed in Scotland; The age of consent equalised in the UK, Belarus, Switzerland and Israel; The German 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; Israel recognizes same-sex relations for immigration purposes for a foreign partner of an Israeli resident.
  • 2001 - The state of Arizona in the United States repeals its sodomy law; Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Western Australia, Albania, Austria and Hungary all equalize their age of consent; Same-sex marriage is legalized in the Netherlands, making it the first country to do so; Germany enacts registered partnership legislation; Protesters disrupt the first Pride march in Belgrade.
  • 2002 - Moldova and Romania equalize their age of consent; Sweden legalizes adoption for same-sex couples; Zurich extends marriage-like rights to same sex couples; Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by Volkert van der Graaf; Homosexuality is decriminalized in China; Actor Jade Esteban Estrada debuts solo performance of ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
  • 2003 - Section 28 repealed in England and Wales; The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down remaining state sodomy laws; Armenia decrimilizes male homosexual sodomy; Lithuania, the Northern Territory and New South Wales all equalize their age of consent; Same-sex marriage in Belgium legalized; Germany's Supreme Court upholds the country's civil union.
  • 2004 - Cape Verde legalises homosexuality; Portugal is the fourth country in the world to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in their Consitution; Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage while eleven other U.S. states ban the practice through public referenda; Domestic partnerships are legalized in New Jersey; Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil accepts civil unions; Australia bans same-sex marriage, while New Zealand passes a civil union bill; Luxembourg introduces civil partnerships; Same-sex marriages in Belgium get adoption rights and are equal to marriage.
Iranian homosexual youths Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni executed in 2005.
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Iranian homosexual youths Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni executed in 2005.
  • 2005 - New Zealand is the first nation in the world to outlaw hate crime and employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity; Puerto Rico repeals anti-sodomy law; Hong Kong age of consent equalized through legal ruling[4]; Uganda and Latvia amend their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage; Same sex marriage is legalized in Canada and Spain (together with adoption); Two gay male teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, are executed in Iran; Switzerland votes in favor of extending rights for registered same-sex couples; South Africa's Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional to ban gay marriages; André Boisclair is chosen leader of the Parti Québécois, becoming the first openly gay man elected as the leader of a major political party in North America. UK introduces civil partnerships with rights all but equal to marriage; Maine adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing anti-discrimination laws; South Africa legalizes same-sex marriage, to take effect by 1 December 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Reeder, Greg (Oct 2000). "Same-sex desire, conjugal constructs, and the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep". World Archaeology 32 (2): 193–208.
  2. ^ Devereaux, George, "Greek Pseudo-homosexuality and the Greek Miracle", Symbolae Osloenses, 13 (1967), pp.70-92
  3. ^ William Armstrong Percy III, Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece, passim
  4. ^ Hong Kong Gay Sex Law Dead
  5. ^ State votes for consent age drop
  6. ^ of anti gay law in Missouri
  7. ^ News: Fiji legalizes consensual homosexuality
  8. ^ Legal Wrap Up - November, 1006

[edit] External links

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