Yes, we have always been here and have always done amazing things, and the world would not be the way it is today without the extraordinary queer people who have made history.
Florence Nightingale
Henry Herring/Public Domain
In addition to being a pioneer in the field of nursing, Florence Nightingale was reportedly also a Sapphic, once writing in her memoirs, “I have slept and lived in the same bed with English countesses and Prussian peasant ladies. No woman ever inspired the passions of women as I did.”
William Shakespeare
John Taylor/Public Domain
Although William Shakespeare is best known for his many plays, he is also famous for writing sonnets addressed to both men and women.
Julius Caesar
Public domain
Julius Caesar may have been the first emperor, but he was also a bisexual king: at age 19, he had an affair with King Nicomedes of Bithynia, and many extramarital affairs with other women.
Hadrian
Sailco
The Roman Emperor Hadrian is famous for building the wall that bears his name and marks the boundary of Roman rule in modern-day Britain, but he is also known for his romance with his wife Antinous.
Alexander the Great
Public domain
Alexander the Great was another world conqueror who had lovers, both male and female. Historical records, such as those written by Plutarch about Alexander, seem to record his relationships with both men and women.
Audre Lorde
Elsa Dorfman
Audre Lorde famously said, “Silence will not protect you.” During her lifetime, she was an outspoken writer, lesbian, and feminist, and we are fortunate that her work survives so we can continue to learn from her wisdom.
Bayard Rustin
Public domain
Bayard Rustin was a famous activist who helped Martin Luther King organize marches and demonstrations during the Civil Rights Movement. Although not many people know his name today, he should be celebrated for his contributions as an openly LGBT person during that time.
Billie Holiday
William P. Gottlieb/Public Domain
Billie Holiday was openly bisexual in the 1930s. *mic drop*
Cary Grant
Public domain
According to Cary Grant's daughter, the iconic Hollywood actor “loved being called gay.”
Chavela Vargas
Miguel Ka/Shutterstock
At age 81, Chavela Vargas came out in the most amazing way. She told the Colombian newspaper El Pais in 2000, “Nobody taught me to do this. I was born this way. Since I opened my eyes to the world, I have never slept with a man. Not even once. Imagine that purity. I have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Public domain
Eleanor Roosevelt was a White House HBIC during her husband's tenure, and it was long rumored that she had a very intimate relationship with a female reporter at the time.
Greta Garbo
Public domain
of The New York Times Actress Greta Garbo, he writes, “called homosexual relations a 'stimulating secret.'” And that's it.
Langston Hughes
Gordon Parks/Public Domain
According to the University of Illinois at Springfield, legendary American poet Langston Hughes is believed to have hidden “gay code” in his poetry.
Leonardo da Vinci
Public domain
Have you ever heard of the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”? Both of these iconic works of art were created by Leonardo da Vinci.
Lorraine Hansberry
David Attey/Getty Images
Lorraine Hansberry has blessed the world. Raisins in the sun And she was the inspiration for Nina Simone's “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”
Sally Ride
Public domain
Sally Ride was the first woman to fly in space, and also the first queer woman to fly in space. How far is her biopic going? The world needs it.
Tennessee Williams
Orlando Fernandez, World-Telegram Staff Photographer/Public Domain
Tennessee Williams wrote some of the most iconic American plays. A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a hot tin roof?
Virginia Woolf
George Charles Beresford / Adam Carden / Public Domain
Virginia Woolf in the world Your own roomAnd it’s no surprise that queer women today still love and adore Ms. Wolf.
Walt Whitman
George Collins Cox/Public Domain
Walt Whitman's Iris The male love depicted in the poem has made it part of the queer literary canon.
