LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which was used to replace the term gay in reference to the LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s. Activists believed that the term gay community did not accurately represent all those to whom it referred.
The initialism has become adopted into the mainstream as an umbrella term for use when labeling topics pertaining to sexuality and gender identity. For example, the LGBT Movement Advancement Project termed community centres, which have services specific to those members of the LGBT community, as "LGBT community centers", in a comprehensive studies of such centres around the United States.
The initialism LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. It may be used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual identity; LGBTQ has been recorded since 1996. Those who add intersex people to LGBT groups or organizing use an extended initialism LGBTI. The two acronyms are sometimes combined to form the terms LGBTIQ or LGBT+ to encompass spectrums of sexuality and gender. Other, less common variants also exist, motivated by a desire for inclusivity, including those over twice as long which have prompted criticism.
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These names: gay, queer, homosexual are limiting. I would love to finish with them. We're going to have to decide which terms to use and where we use them. For me to use the word "queer" is a liberation; it was a word that frightened me, but no longer.
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Credit: Photo by Rink Photo
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 - 1 – E. M. Forster (1879–1970), English novelist and short story writer
- 1 – James Hormel (1933–), American philanthropist, LGBT activist & former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg
- 1 – Joe Orton (1933–1967), English playwright
- 1 – Martine Rothblatt (1954–), American lawyer, author, entrepreneur, business executive, & CEO of United Therapeutics
- 2 – William Haines (1900–1973), American film actor and interior designer
- 2 – M. Carey Thomas (1857–1935), American educator, linguist and women's suffragist
- 4 – Dot Jones (1964–), American actress and arm wrestler
- 4 – Michael Stipe (1960–), American singer
- 4 – Gianni Vattimo (1936–), Italian philosopher, politician, and Member of European Parliament
- 6 – Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), French writer, philosopher and activist
- 6 – Kate McKinnon (1984–), American actress and comedian
- 6 – Nancy Ruth (1942–), Canadian Senator
- 6 – Gábor Szetey (1968–), Hungarian politician and former Secretary of State
- 7 – Christian Louboutin (1963–), French footwear designer
- 7 – Chester Kallman (1921–1975), American poet, librettist, and translator
- 7 – Michael Sam (1990–), American football player, first publicly gay player drafted by the NFL
- 8 – Jack Andraka (1997–), American inventor, scientist, and cancer researcher
- 8 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892), English royalty
- 8 – Winnaretta Singer (1865–1943), American heiress
- 10 – Sal Mineo (1939–1976), American actor
- 11 – Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), English actress, producer and director
- 12 – Edith Cooper (1862–1913), English poet
- 12 – Patsy Kelly (1910–1981), American actress
- 12 – Kieron Richardson (1986–), English actor
- 13 – Charles Nelson Reilly (1931–2007), American actor, comedian, and director
- 13 – Charlotte Charke (1713–1760), English actress, playwright, novelist and transvestite
- 13 – Edmund White (1940–), American author
- 13 – Nate Silver (1978–), American statistician, journalist, and writer
- 14 – Cecil Beaton (1904–1980), English fashion and portrait photographer
- 14 – Holland Taylor (1943–), American actress
- 18 – Cary Grant (1904–1986), English actor
- 18 – Mike Michaud (1955–), American Democratic congressman (Maine)
- 18 – Seamus O'Regan (1971–), Canadian broadcast journalist and politician
- 18 – Maulik Pancholy (1974–), American actor
- 19 – Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995), American novelist and short-story writer
- 19 – Janis Joplin (1943–1970), American rock singer-songwriter
- 21 – Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer
- 21 – Christian Dior (1905–1957), French fashion designer
- 22 – Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626), English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author
- 22 – Lord Byron (1788–1824), British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism
- 22 – Elaine Noble (1944–), American politician and LGBT activist
- 23 – Luisa, Marquise Casati Stampa di Soncino (1881–1957), Italian aristocrat, muse and patron of the arts
- 24 – Hadrian (76–138), Roman Emperor
- 25 – Aya Kamikawa (1968–), Japanese politician and writer, first openly transgender politician in Japan
- 25 – W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965), English playwright, novelist, and short story writer
- 25 – Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English writer
- 26 – Ellen DeGeneres (1958–), American actress and stand-up comedian
- 27 – Eric Radford (1985–), Canadian pairs figure skater, 2015 World Champion
- 28 – Colette (1873–1954), French novelist
- 28 – Marnie McBean (1968–), Canadian rower, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist
- 29 – Gia Carangi (1960–1986), American model
- 29 – Sara Gilbert (1975–), American actress and talk show co-host
- 29 – Greg Louganis (1960–), American Olympic diver and author
- 30 – Stewart McKinney (1931–1987), American politician, Republican congressman (Connecticut) (1971–1987)
- 30 – Howard Sturgis (1855–1920), English writer
- 31 – Tallulah Bankhead (1902–1968), American actress
- 31 – Portia de Rossi (1973–), Australian actress
- 31 – Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (1863–1922), British politician
- 31 – Patricia Velásquez (1971–), Venezuelan actress and model
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