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Timeline of LGBTQ history

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

12,000 BC

Near the end of the Upper Paleolithic Era, human beings have left artifacts and artwork suggesting an appreciation of homo eroticism. Examples include a few cave paintings and hundreds of phallic "batons" among which is a graphically carved double dildo from Gorge d'Enfer (in present-day France) that seems to have been crafted for two women to use together.

5,000 BC

Possible examples of homo eroticism in European Mesolithic art include a rock engraving found in Addaura, Sicily, in which men and women dance around two cavorting sexually aroused male figures.

Source: Timeline of more History

25th/24th century BC

It is believed that the two men may have been lovers, making this the first record of a possible homosexual relationship.[1]

7th century BC

  • 630 BCE Dorian aristocrats in Crete adopt formal pederastic 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 causing, according to some, a flowering of culture.[2][3]

6th century BC

4th century BC

  • 338 BCE The Sacred Band of Thebes, an undefeated elite battalion 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.

1st century AD

  • 54 - Nero becomes Emperor of Rome. Nero married two men in legal ceremonies, with at least one spouse accorded the same honours as a Caesar's wife.[2]

This action, however, was criticized by contemporary commentators.

4th century AD

6th century AD

  • 589 - In early medieval Visigothic Spain, after the conversion from Arianism to Catholicism, 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.

9th century AD

  • 800-900 - During the Carolingian Renaissance, there is a large amount of complex gay poetry. There is not any Carolingian law prohibiting homosexuality.

11th century AD

  • 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 largely unavailable. Thus, in these warriors clubs, pederasty was practiced as an institutionalized way of life.
  • 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. He was unable to convince 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.

12th century AD

  • 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.

13th century AD

  • 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)

14th century AD

  • 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.

16th century AD

17th century AD

18th century AD

  • 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.
  • 1791 - France decriminalizes sexual acts between men.
  • 1795 - Belgium, Luxembourg, and Tuscany decriminalize homosexual acts.

19th century AD

File:Ulrichs.jpeg
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, 1825-1895, the pioneer of the LGBT rights movement
File:Fig02-17.jpg
Magnus Hirschfeld, 1868-1935, was a prominent German physician, sexologist, and gay rights advocate.
Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

20th century AD

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.

1910s

  • 1910 - Emma Goldman first begins speaking publicly in favor of homosexual rights.
May 14, 1928 issue of German lesbian periodical Die freundin
  • 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".
  • 1917 - The October Revolution in Russia repeals the previous criminal code in its entirety - including Article 995.

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.
  • 1922 - A new criminal code comes into force in the USSR officially decriminalizing homosexual acts.
  • 1923 - 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 homosexual rights organization in America is founded in Chicago — The Society for Human Rights. The movement exists for a few months before being ended by the police. Panama, Paraguay and Peru legalize homosexuality.
  • 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.

1930s

1940s

  • 1940 - Iceland decriminalizes homosexuality.
  • 1941 - Transsexuality was first used in reference to homosexuality and bisexuality.
  • 1942 - Switzerland decriminalizes homosexuality, with the age of consent set at 20.
  • 1944 - Sweden decriminalizes homosexuality, with the age of consent set at 20 and Suriname legalizes homosexuality.
File:Schimitzek Erwin.jpg
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 homosexual group, is formed in Denmark.

1950s

Mattachine Review published by the Mattachine Society
Alan Turing is often considered the "father" of modern computer science.

1960s

  • 1961 - Czechoslovakia and Hungary decriminalize sodomy.
  • 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 - Chad decrimilizes homosexuality; The Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalises male homosexual behaviour in England and Wales; The book "Homosexual Behavior Among Males" by Wainwright Churchill breaks ground as a scientific study approaching homosexuality as a fact of life and introduces the term "homoerotophobia", a possible precursor to "homophobia"; The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, the world's first homosexual-oriented bookstore, opens in New York City; "Our World" ("Nuestro Mundo"), the first Latino-American homosexual group, is created in Argentina; A raid on the Black Cat Bar near Los Angeles, CA promotes homosexual rights activity.
  • 1968 - Paragraph 175 is eased in East Germany decriminalizing homosexual acts over the age of 18; Bulgaria decriminalizes adult homosexual relations.
  • 1969 - The Stonewall riots occur in New York; Paragraph 175 is eased in West Germany; Homosexual behavior legalized in Canada with an Age of Consent of 21 for sodomy, and 14 for non-sodomy; 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 homosexual 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 homosexual rights organisation.

1970s

Dr. Frank Kameny becomes the first openly gay candidate for the United States Congress; The University of Michigan establishes the first collegiate LGBT programs office, then known as the "Gay Advocate's Office."

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

1980s

  • 1980 - The Democratic National Convention becomes the first major political party in America to endorse a homosexual 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 and Colombia decriminalize homosexuality with a uniform age of consent; The Moral Majority starts its anti-homosexual 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 discrimination against homosexuals; 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 homosexual member of Congress; Guernsey (Including Alderney, Herm and Sark) and Portugal decriminalizes homosexuality.
  • 1984 - The lesbian and gay association "Ten Percent Club" is formed in Hong Kong; Massachusetts voters reelect representative Gerry Studds, despite his revealing himself as homosexual 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 homosexual politician in the UK parliament. The Argentine Homosexual Community (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina, CHA) is formed uniting several different and preexisting groups.
  • 1985 - France prohibits discrimination based on lifestyle (moeurs) in employment and services; The first memorial to gay Holocaust victims is dedicated; Belgium equalizes the age of consent.
  • 1986 - Homosexual Law Reform Act passed in New Zealand, legalizing sex between males over 16; June in Bowers v. Hardwick case, U.S. Supreme Court upholds Georgia law forbidding oral or anal sex, ruling that the constitutional right to privacy does not extend to homosexual relations, but it did not state whether the law could be enforced against heterosexuals.
  • 1987 - ACT UP stages its first major demonstration, seventeen protesters are arrested; U.S. Congressman Barney Frank comes out; Homomonument, a memorial to persecuted homosexual, opens in Amsterdam.
  • 1988 - Sweden is the first country to pass laws protecting homosexual 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; Belize and Israel decriminalize (de jure) sodomy and sexual acts between men (the relevant section in the old British-mandate law from 1936 was never enforced in Israel).
  • 1989 - Western Australia legalizes male homosexuality; Liechtenstein legalizes homosexuality; 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).

1990s

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 homosexual-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 reason for discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Albania and Moldova decriminalize homosexuality.
  • 1996 - The age of consent is equalised in Burkina Faso; Iceland legalizes registered partnerships; Hungary recognizes same-sex partners; Romania decriminalizes homosexuality that is not scandalous; Macedonia decriminalizes homosexuality.
  • 1997 - South Africa becomes the first country to prohibit explicitly 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 protect explicitly 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, as well as in Ecuador; Russia equalizes the age of consent.
  • 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; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan legalize homosexuality; Croatia and Latvia equalize the age of consent. Cyprus decriminalizes 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; Finland equalizes the age of consent.

21st century AD

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 former USSR-states of Azerbaijan and Georgia legalize homosexual acts; Gabon decriminalize homosexuality, the age of consent is equalised in the UK, Belarus, 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; Albania and Liechtenstein equalize the 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 and the rest of all the UK territories legalize homosexuality.
  • 2002 - Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Western Australia all equalize their age of consent; Romania repeals article 200 which used to punish "scandalous sodomy"; 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. A Civil Unions law is passed in the Buenos Aires (Argentina) Legislature, becoming the first latinoamerican city to legalize same-sex unions.
  • 2003 - Belize recriminalizes homosexuality; 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 and Marshall Islands legalize homosexuality; Portugal is the fourth country in the world to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in their Constitution; 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.
File:Irangay teens.jpg
Iranian homosexual youths Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni executed in 2005.
Status of legal recognition in Europe.
Legend
    Same sex marriage legal
    Civil unions legal
    Unregistered cohabitation legal
    Issue under consideration
    Illegal or unknown

See also

References

  1. ^ Reeder, Greg (October 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. ^ Getting Rid of Sodomy Laws: History and Strategy that Led to the Lawrence Decision
  5. ^ Sodomy Laws, Idaho
  6. ^ Hong Kong Gay Sex Law Dead
  7. ^ Gay sex at 16 legal, Man
  8. ^ of anti gay law in Missouri
  9. ^ Fiji legalizes consensual homosexuality
  10. ^ World Legal Wrap Up - November, 2006
  11. ^ South Australia gays get new rights
  12. ^ Timeline of lesbian and gay history
  13. ^ Island Chain Votes To Ban Discrimination Against Gays
  14. ^ State votes for consent age drop
  15. ^ Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 2007
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