February 27

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6th Century BC – Sappho, Greek lyric poet, born. Of course, this is another one of those dates that is arbitrary. Sappho was the greatest of all the early Greek lyric poets, born on the island of Lesbos. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life. The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired throughout antiquity, has been lost, but her immense reputation has endured through surviving fragments. She was called "the Tenth Muse" by no less than Plato.

Sappho's poetry centers on passion and love for various personages and both genders. The word lesbian derives from the name of the island of her birth, Lesbos, while her name is also the origin of the word sapphic; neither word was applied to female homosexuality until the nineteenth century.

The female narrators of many of her poems speak of infatuations and love (sometimes requited, sometimes not) for various females, but descriptions of physical acts between women are few and subject to debate. Whether these poems are meant to be autobiographical is not known, although elements of other parts of Sappho's life do make appearances in her work, and it would be compatible with her style to have these intimate encounters expressed poetically, as well. Her homoerotica should be placed in the context of the seventh century (BC).

A tradition going back at least to Menander suggested that Sappho killed herself by jumping off the Leucadian cliffs for love of Phaon, a ferryman. This is regarded as unhistorical by modern scholars, perhaps invented by the comic poets as a sort of ironic "revenge of the gods." or the legend may have resulted in part from a desire to assert Sappho as heterosexual.

1905 – One of the most infamous hateful racist homophobes and general misanthropes Charley Eugene Johns was born on this date.(d.1990). Johns was an American politician and the thirty-second governor of Florida from 1953 to 1955. Why cover Johns? Because most of us don't know this history and it's important to know what happened so it doesn't happen again.

Johns is most remembered for his support and chairmanship of the infamous Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, nicknamed the "Johns Committee" because of Johns' chairmanship. This committee participated in the Red Scare and Lavender scare by investigating communists, homosexuals, and civil rights advocates among the students and faculty of Florida's university system. They were responsible for revoking teachers' certificates and firing university professors. By 1963, the committee had forced the dismissal or resignation of over 100 professors and deans at the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida. One professor attempted suicide after being investigated by the committee.

The state legislature ended funding for the committee in 1964 after it released a report called Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida, which infamously became known as the "Purple Pamphlet". Its many photographs depicting homosexual acts outraged legislators and reportedly copies of the report were being sold as pornography in New York City.

In 2005, UF Today, an alumni publication of the University of Florida, included Johns in a list of 81 "outstanding" UF alumni. Johns attended UF only for a few months and did not graduate. The editor apologized for the error, and the alumni association said that including him was a mistake.

1927 – James Leo Herlihy was born on this date (d.1993). Herlihy wrote "Midnight Cowboy" and "Season of the Witch." Born in Detroit, Michigan, Herlihy attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina, a small, experimental institution whose faculty included Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Willem de Kooning, and other innovative figures in the arts. Herlihy studied art, music, and literature.

Like his close friend and mentor Tennessee Williams, Herlihy was a gay author whose works delved into taboo subjects and broke new ground for what was acceptable to major publishers. His 1958 play Blue Denim confronted teenage sexuality and abortion and was praised in a newspaper column by Eleanor Roosevelt.

Along with Williams, Herlihy became part of a circle of friends and lovers in Key West- mostly gay writers and "theater people"- that included James Kirkwood Jr., co-writer of A Chorus Line and author of cult novels and plays including There Must Be a Pony!; Evan Rhodes, the author of The Prince of Central Park; one-time singer and agent Dick Duane, to whom Herlihy dedicated two of his finest novels, All Fall Down and Midnight Cowboy; and to a lesser extent, visiting writers like Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Author Christopher Isherwood paints the scene in an entry from his diary in August 1959: "(Broadway producer Walter) Starcke came by, en route for Japan and round the world . . . 'Now I live by grace,' says Starcke. 'I live every hour of every day to its fullest.' Actually he is in Key West, dealing in real estate and having parties with Herlihy and his friend which sometimes go on until morning. Lots of sex."

Herlihy's novels often feature protagonists living outside mainstream American culture, like Joe Buck, the male prostitute in Midnight Cowboy and Witch Gliz, the female teenage runaway in Season of the Witch. He wrote about aspects of the Gay subculture in urban America in much of his fiction. Most of his books are now out of print, although they were very popular at the time of their publication.

Herlihy committed suicide, aged 66, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in Los Angeles.

1932 – Dame Elizabeth Taylor, DBE (d.2011) was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. As one of the world's most famous film stars, Taylor was recognized for her acting ability and for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty and distinctive violet eyes.

National Velvet (1944) was Taylor's first success, and she starred in Father of the Bride (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 (1960), played the title role in Cleopatra (1963), and married her co-star Richard Burton. They appeared together in 11 films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), for which Taylor won a second Academy Award. Her much publicized personal life included eight marriages (twice to Burton) and several life-threatening illnesses.

Taylor devoted consistent and generous humanitarian time, advocacy efforts, and funding to HIV and AIDS-related projects and charities, helping to raise more than $270 million for the cause. She was one of the first celebrities and public personalities to do so at a time when few acknowledged the disease, organizing and hosting the first AIDS fundraiser in 1984, to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles.

Taylor was cofounder of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) with Dr. Michael Gottlieb and Dr. Mathilde Krim in 1985. Her longtime friend and former co-star Rock Hudson had disclosed having AIDS and died of it that year. She also founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) in 1993, created to provide critically needed support services for people with HIV/AIDS. For example, in 2006 Taylor commissioned a 37-foot (11 m) "Care Van" equipped with examination tables and xray equipment, the New Orleans donation made by her Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Macy's. That year, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she also donated US$40,000 to the NO/AIDS Task Force, a non-profit organization serving the community of those affected by HIV/AIDS in and around New Orleans.

1955 – Peter Christopherson (d.2010), aka Sleazy was a musician, video director and designer, and former member of the influential British design agency Hipgnosis.

He was one of the original members of the infamous Industrial Records band, Throbbing Gristle. He's also participated in two other famous industrial bands, Psychic TV and Coil.

Peter Christopherson was a founding member of Throbbing Gristle and created the genre industrial music along with the group. Throbbing Gristle disbanded in 1981.

Christopherson met John Balance, a Throbbing Gristle fan, and the two became a couple. Christopherson worked on the Psychic TV album, Dreams Less Sweet, joined by Balance. The two played several times live with Psychic TV then decided to collaborate on their own personal project, forming Coil, which lasted 23 years until Balance's death.

Despite Christopherson's long and extensive history as a musical artist, he has only released one single track under the name Peter Christopherson. The song, In My Head A Crystal Sphere Of Heavy Fluid, appeared on the compilation Foxtrot, a benefit album for former partner John Balance's alcohol addiction.

In 2005, Christopherson relocated from England to Krung Thep, Thailand and undertook the project The Threshold HouseBoy's Choir. 2005 also marked the reuniting of Throbbing Gristle which announced a new album Part Two and announced several additional concerts in 2007 to promote the album.

In 2007 Christopherson released the debut album of his solo effort The Threshold HouseBoys Choir. The album, Form Grows Rampant, is broken down into five 'parts' or songs, and includes a DVD of the album set to video of Thai rituals in Krung Thep.

Christopherson died in his sleep on November 25, 2010. The cause of his death has not been revealed.

1970 – off our backs (sometimes referred to by its initials, oob) was a radical feminist periodical published in Washington, D.C.. It was published continuously from the time it was founded in February 1970, and when it ceased it was longest-running feminist periodical published in the United States. off our backs began as a twelve-page tabloid, with the first issue. It ceased publication in 2008..

1971 – Derren Brown is an English illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions, photographic memory, and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat.

After studying German and Law at the University of Bristol, Derren Brown started out as a traditional conjurer specialising in close magic before moving into stage hypnotism and eventually into television on Channel 4, where he has produced several controversial series using a combination of 'magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship'.

Using his knowledge and skill he appears to be able to predict and influence people's thoughts with subtle suggestion, manipulate the decision making process and read the subtle physical signs or body language that indicate what a person is thinking. His sometimes disturbing shows have included Derren Brown's Mind Control, Russian Roulette, Seance, Messiah and The Heist. He often uses his skills to debunk religous, supernatural and paranormal beliefs. He has written several books on magic and tricks of the mind and regularly takes his show on tour.

Brown had been in the spotlight for several years before revealing himself to be gay in an interview in a Sunday newspaper supplement in September 2007. In an interview with the Radio Times in 2011 Brown talked more about his sexuality, stating that he is blissfully happy in a relationship. He said,

1975 – The American screenwriter and director Christopher (Beau) Landon was born today. Best known as the writer of 2007 film Disturbia and as the son of filmmaker Michael Landon.

Most of Landon's films deal with LGBT themes and issues, including $30, one of five components in Boys Life 3, a collection of short films dealing with issues faced by gays, and a spec script about the relationship between a straight man and a gay man. More recently, he has written the screenplays of the 2007 films Blood and Chocolate, The Flock and the acclaimed Disturbia. Disturbia was one of his spec scripts which was brought to Montecito Pictures and subsequently DreamWorks Pictures, and went on to become No. 1 in cinemas upon its release. Since then he has worked on The Lesson, a film for DreamWorks, and the 2007 television series Dirty Sexy Money, his first television project, eager to expand his repertoire. He has also worked on the screenplay of the film adaption of Lisa McMann's young adult novel Wake. He has recently been achieving some success as a writer on the Paranormal Activiy franchise.

Landon came out as gay in 1999 having only written the script of Another Day in Paradise, unafraid of his sexuality harming his career potential. He was aware that homophobia may have harmed his potential in the industry. "I may fall off some list because of my sexuality. But if that happens, then I really don't want to be on that list anyway," he said, speaking of homophobia in Hollywood and the film industry.

He says that growing up he was labeled a faggot by peers at his high school. His mother, a Christian, initially hesitated to accept his sexuality, but he told her, "I don't even know if I believe in God, but if I do, he gave you a gay son so that you can start confronting some of these issues and get yourself out of the box you've placed yourself in for so long." His stepmother, Cindy Clerico, his father's next wife, told him that both she and his father always suspected he was gay.

Some rather indiscreet pics which have surfaced on the internet reveal that, like his father, he is very well-hung.

"Little" Joe

1997 – The Centers for Disease Control reports a major decline in AIDS-related deaths for the first time.

2017 – When We Rise, an ABC mini-series, premiers on this day.  It was a docudrama miniseries about LGBT rights, created by Dustin Lance Black. The 45-year saga tells the evolving history of the modern gay rights movement, starting just after the Stonewall riots in 1969.