LGBTQIA+ History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. LGBTQIA+ History Month originated in the United States and was first celebrated in 1994. It was founded by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. October was chosen by Wilson as the month for the celebration because National Coming Out Day already was established as a widely known event, on October 11, the date of the Second March of Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights., In 1987, October also commemorated the first March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation by LGBT people in 1979. LGBTQIA+ History Month is intended to encourage honesty and openness about being LGBTQIA+. Read more
Sylvia Rivera achieved legendary status in the LGBT community as one of the "street queens" who fought in the riot at the Stonewall Inn that helped launch the modern gay and transgender liberation movements. Full Bio. Photo credit: Sylvia Rivera by Dignidadrebelde (CC BY 2.0 DEED)
Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most prominent figures in the 1969 Stonewall Riots, was a popular figure in New York City's gay and art scene, modeled for Andy Warhol, and was known as "the Mayor of Christopher Street" in Greenwich Village. Full Bio. Photo credit: Marsha P. Washington by JamJamArt by Wiredforlego (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Harvey Milk was an American politician and the first openly gay elected official in the history of California where he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated by another member of the Board. Full Bio. Photo credit: Harvey Milk in Front of Castro Camera, June 1977 by San Francisco Public Library (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Bayard Rustin, a leader in social movements for civil rights, & socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights, was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Full Bio. Photo Credit: Bayard Rustin by Seattle Parks & Recreation (CC BY 2.0)
In 1955 Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon and were part of a small group of women in San Francisco who started the first known national lesbian organization in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). Full Bio Photo Credit: Phyllis-Lyon-Del-Martin-Marriage-2 by Olga Barrios (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Pauline Park co-founded the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy and helped get inclusion of gender identity and expression into safe schools laws in New York State. Full Bio Photo Credit: Pauline Park at 2016 Asian American International Film Festival Screening at Village East Cinema (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Audre Lorde was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," who dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. Full Bio Photo Credit: Audre-Lorde by 350 Vermont (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Pedro Zamora was a Cuban-American AIDS educator. As one of the first openly gay men with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media (MTV's The Real World) he brought international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBT issues & prejudices. Full Bio Photo Credit: Pedro Zamora 2 by Magnus97 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Queer: a Graphic History by 
This Book Is Gay by 
Gender Queer: a Memoir by 
All Boys Aren't Blue
