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1884 – Born: James Elroy Flecker (d.1915); English poet, novelist and playwright. Born in London, and educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, where his father was headmaster, and Uppingham School, he studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Oxford he was greatly influenced by the last flowering of the Aesthetic movement there, under John Addington Symonds.

He died of tuberculosis in Davos, Switzerland. His death at the age of thirty was described at the time as "unquestionably the greatest premature loss that English literature has suffered since the death of Keats".

His Collected Poems (1916) were published the year after he died at age 30. His poetry shares one trait in common with that of his contemporary, Rupert Brooke: the sexuality is ambiguous. There is no question, however, that Flecker was Gay. His lover was the classicist J.D. Beazley, one of the world's great authorities on Greek vases.

His most widely known poem is "To A Poet A Thousand Years Hence". The most enduring testimony to his work is perhaps an excerpt from "The Golden Journey to Samarkand" inscribed on the clock tower of the barracks of the British Army's 22nd Special Air Service regiment in Hereford.

1931 – Donald Howarth (d.2020) was a playwright and theatre director. After training at Esme Church's Northern Theatre School in Bradford, he worked in various repertory theatres around England before writing his first play, Sugar in the Morning, which was selected by George Devine for performance at the Royal Court Theatre in 1959. Ian McKellen's first starring role in London's West End was in Howarth's third play, A Lily in Little India, and his fourth play, Three Months Gone starred Diana Dors.

He enjoyed a nearly fifty-year relationship with American LSE academic George Goetschuis and entered into a civil partnership with him in February 2006 shortly after their introduction in the UK. Goetschuis died in October 2006 at the age of 83. They lived for most of their life together in George Devine's old Thameside house in London, theatre director Peter Gill sharing part of the property for many years. Donald Howarth is mentioned in the diary of Joe Orton, when Orton visited Peter Gill.

Donald Howarth lived between London and a countryside property in Wales, in the garden of which George Goetschuis is buried.

1955 – Lesléa Newman, born in 1955 in Brooklyn, New York, is an American author and editor. She is Jewish, a feminist and openly lesbian.

She has written and edited 57 books and anthologies. She has written about such topics as being a Jew, body image and eating disorders, lesbianism, gay parenting, and her gender role as a femme. Her best-known work is the controversial Heather Has Two Mommies. In 1990, many gay and lesbian couples and their children found the first reflections of their families in this picture book.She also authored The Boy Who Cried Fabulous in 2004.

In 1989, Newman was impelled to write her first children's book when a lesbian friend complained that there were no books where her child could read about her own experience as the daughter of a lesbian. She asked Newman to rectify this, and the result was Heather Has Two Mommies, a straightforward story of a little girl who has "two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet," and two lesbian mommies.

First published by a small press Newman and a friend founded to issue it because no established publisher would touch the theme, Heather soon became one of the most controversial books in the country, outraging right wing conservatives. By 1994 it had become the second most banned book in the United States.

In one of her best-known pieces, "A Letter to Harvey Milk" (1987), Newman ties Jewish history and oppression to the struggle for gay liberation through a rambling letter written to the slain San Francisco politician by an older straight Jewish man. The older man's grudging respect for Milk's work and grief over his murder touched a deep chord with readers, and the story has been adapted as both a stage play and a film.

Bryan Lourd (R) and husband Bruce Bozzi

1960 – Bryan Lourd is an American talent agent. He has been partner, managing director and co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) since October 1995.

Lourd was born in New Iberia, Louisiana. His brother, Blaine Lourd, is an investment advisor. He attended New Iberia Senior High School, where he played the lead in several high school musicals. He earned a degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 1982.

Lourd and actress Carrie Fisher were together from 1991 to 1994. They have one daughter, actress Billie, born in 1992. Lourd married Bruce Bozzi, the co-owner of The Palm, on October 12, 2016, and Lourd legally adopted Bozzi's daughter, Ava. They divide their time between a penthouse apartment in the West Village, in Lower Manhattan, New York City and a house in Beverly Hills, California.

Lourd was elected to the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2011. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. He was appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2009 by President Barack Obama and to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2015.

Lourd 's clients include George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey, Jr., Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Madonna, Naomi Watts, Natalie Portman, Robin Williams, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Duchovny, Helen Hunt, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Taraji P. Henson, and Peter Jöback.

1968 – Penny Wong, Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia, was the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation, and was the first openly gay member of the Australian federal cabinet, and the first Asian-born federal minister. Since the defeat of the Labor Party in the 2013 elections she has been Leader of the Opposition.

Born in Malayaysia, she arrived in Australia as a child. As an immigrant from a minority ethnic group, she faced many difficulties (including at times direct racial abuse) but overcame these, to forge a successful career in law, as a barrister and solicitor in Adelaide and an adviser to the Carr Government in New South Wales, before entering politics. She has been open about her sexuality since 2002, and was the first sitting member of the Australian Labor Party to "come out" while still in parliament.

In August 2011, she announced that she and her partner, Sophie Allouache,are expecting a baby. The child was conceived by IVF with the help of an anonymous sperm donor, but done outside of her home state of South Australia, where IVF treatment for gay couples is illegal. Nevertheless, the news made hardly a ripple in Australia - a measure of how easily gay and lesbian relationships are now accepted in Australia. Although the influence of the Catholic Church is strong and Australia remains a generally socially conservative country, it has also become a very tolerant country, content to leave decisions on personal morality as just that - strictly personal.

Wong was named by the Australian LGBT site "Same Same" as one of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians. In 2007, 2008, and 2010. Controversially, she was initially reluctant to go against her party's officially declared stance against same-sex marriage - which may explain her otherwise surprising ommission from the list in 2009. She has since dropped her reluctance, and has become a firm advocate for changing the party policy.

Following Labor's defeat at the 2013 Australian federal election, Wong was appointed the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, becoming the first woman to do so.

1969 – The Homosexual Information Center protested at the offices of the Los Angeles Times to protest the newspaper's refusal to print the word "homosexual" in ads after it refused to print an ad announcing a group discussion on homosexuality.

1970 – The New York Times reported that the Gay Activists Alliance's petition to incorporate as a non-profit organization failed because of the use of the word "gay" in the organization's name.

1973 – The US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Florida's sodomy law.

1973 – On this date Elaine Noble became the first openly Gay or Lesbian individual to be elected to a state legislature when she was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

1974 – Ricardo Lara is an American politician who is currently serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, he represents the 33rd Senate District, which encompasses Long Beach and portions of the Gateway Cities region. Prior to his 2012 election to the State Senate, Lara served in the California State Assembly, representing the 50th Assembly District. He is a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, and served as Chair from 2013 to 2014. He is also vice chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, and currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Born in Commerce, California, Lara is the son of a factory worker and seamstress who immigrated from Mexico. Lara attended Los Angeles Unified School District schools and graduated from San Diego State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and served as student body president. He is currently pursuing a master's degree from the University of Southern California.

Lara is openly gay. He is one of eight members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. Senator Lara has also introduced bills to create cleaning product chemical disclosure, prevent California law enforcement from participating in the creation of a registry based on religion, ethnicity or national origin, and prevent the state of California from entering contracts with companies that work on federal border wall project. Lara was born to parents who came from Mexico to the USA illegally. Will the Trump administration try to deport him?

1979 – Leonardo Nam is an Australian actor. He made his breakthrough as Roy in The Perfect Score (2004), and gained further recognition for his roles as Morimoto in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Brian McBrian in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008). In 2016, Nam began starring as Felix Lutz in Westworld (2016–present) which brought him widespread recognition.

Nam was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to South Korean immigrant parents. At the age of six, he moved to Sydney, Australia. Nam attended Sydney Technical High School and studied architecture at the University of New South Wales. Nam left Sydney to follow his dreams of an acting career in New York City, United States, at the age of 19. He studied with several acting teachers in New York, including Austin Pendleton and William Carden at HB Studio.

Before his Hollywood success, Nam travelled to New York City to pursue his acting career. His first few nights he slept in Central Park and then found jobs working as a waiter and bartender. His breakthrough role came in his performance of Roy in The Perfect Score (2004).

He had a small role in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as Brian McBrian, a hardcore gamer. He played Brian again in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; in the sequel, his character has a larger role. In 2016, he joined the cast of the HBO series Westworld. In 2018 he was featured in the music video "Waste It on Me" by Steve Aoki featuring BTS.

Nam is married to Michael Dodge. They have twin sons (born 2017) together. The family lives in San Diego.

1983 – Andrew Hayden-Smith, born Andrew John Smith, is a British actor and television presenter best known for his work with CBBC.

Auditions for popular CBBC children's serial drama Byker Grove were held at his school and he won the part of Ben Carter, making his first appearance in the eighth series of the show in 1995.

Initially just using the name Andrew Smith, he appeared as a guest on Saturday morning CBBC show Live & Kicking with several other characters from the show. Smith soon became a regular guest on the show. This led to appearances on other shows and also in teen-magazines, as well as two pantomime appearances. In 2001 he applied for Equity membership and was accepted under the name Andrew Hayden-Smith (Hayden being another surname in his family), as the name Andrew Smith was already taken.

In 2004, the ex-Byker Grove actor and CBBC presenter Andrew did the unthinkable for a young man on kids' TV - he told the world he was gay. At the risk of being outed by a newspaper, he beat the tabloids to the punch and did an interview with Attitude magazine:

It did his career no harm, and he's proved an inspiration - and eye candy - for young gay men across the country.

Andrew has since appeared regularly on stage and in Doctor Who. Hayden-Smith appeared in the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen", "The Age of Steel" and "Doomsday" as Jake Simmonds in the 2006 series of Doctor Who. He returned to CBBC having completed the filming, but decided that he wished to concentrate on acting. His final day of presenting was on 7 July 2006, the day before his third and final Doctor Who appearance.

1985 – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation to protect people with AIDS from discrimination.

1992 – A clause prohibiting anti-gay verbal abuse in public schools was repealed by the Fairfax, Virginia, county board of education because of complaints that it encouraged homosexuality.

2004 – A judge in Saskatchewan rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry in that province.

By restricting the recognition of marriage to opposite-sex couples, the proposition overturned the California Supreme Court's ruling of In re Marriage Cases that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. The wording of Proposition 8 was precisely the same as that which had been found in Proposition 22, which had passed in 2000 and, as an ordinary statute, had been invalidated by the State Supreme Court in 2008. California's State Constitution put Proposition 8 into immediate effect the day after the election. The proposition did not affect domestic partnerships in California, nor same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008.

Proponents of the constitutional amendment argued that exclusively heterosexual marriage was "an essential institution of society," that leaving the constitution unchanged would "result in public schools teaching our kids that gay marriage is okay," and that "gays ... do not have the right to redefine marriage for everyone else."

The Roman Catholic Church, as well as a Roman Catholic lay fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus, firmly supported the measure.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are commonly known as Mormons, also publicly supported the proposition. The Latter-day Saints provided a significant source for financial donations in support of the proposition, both inside and outside the State of California.

Opponents argued that "the freedom to marry is fundamental to our society," that the California constitution "should guarantee the same freedom and rights to everyone" and that the proposition "mandates one set of rules for gay and lesbian couples and another set for everyone else." They also argued that "equality under the law is a fundamental constitutional guarantee".

While Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Senator, Barack Obama stated that while he personally considered marriage to be between a man and woman, and supported civil unions that confer comparable rights rather than gay marriage, he opposed "divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution... the U.S. Constitution or those of other states." Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph Biden also opposed the proposition. Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that although he opposed and twice vetoed legislative bills that would recognize same-sex marriage in California, he respected and would uphold the court's ruling and oppose the initiative and other attempts to amend the state's constitution. The U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi along with other members of the California congressional delegation and both of California's U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, voiced their opposition to Proposition 8. Also voicing their opposition were the Lieutenant Governor, State Controller John Chiang, former governor and Attorney General Jerry Brown, 42 of 80 members of the state assembly, half of the state senators, and the mayors of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego: Gavin Newsom, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Jerry Sanders, respectively.

The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 raised $39.9 million and $43.3 million, respectively, becoming the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot and surpassing every campaign in the country in spending except the presidential contest.

After the elections, demonstrations and protests occurred across the state and nation. Same-sex couples and government entities filed numerous lawsuits with the California Supreme Court challenging the proposition's validity and effect on previously administered same-sex marriages.

In Strauss v. Horton, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, but allowed existing same-sex marriages to stand (under the grandfather clause principle).

United States district court Judge Vaughn R. Walker overturned Proposition 8 on August 4, 2010 in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, ruling that it violated both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Judge Walker issued an injunction against enforcing Proposition 8 and a stay to determine suspension of his ruling pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals continued the stay, keeping Judge Walker's ruling on hold, pending appeal.

On February 7, 2012, a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 majority opinion affirming the judgment in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional, saying it violated the Equal Protection Clause. The opinion, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt and joined by Judge Michael Hawkins, states that Proposition 8 did nothing more than lessen the status and dignity of gays and lesbians, and classify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The court found that the people of California, by using their initiative power to target a minority group and withdraw the right to marry they once possessed under the California State Constitution, violated the federal Constitution.

The proposition's proponents filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 30, 2012, requesting that the Supreme Court review the case

The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on June 26. The Court found the proponents did not have standing to appeal in federal court. To have standing, they "must have suffered an injury in fact, thus giving [them] a sufficiently concrete interest in the outcome of the issue in dispute." This left the district court's ruling overturning Proposition 8 as the final ruling in the case. Because the appeal was decided on the question of standing, the Supreme Court did not examine or rule whether or not in their view Proposition 8 had violated the U.S. Constitution.

On June 28, 2013, the Ninth Circuit lifted its stay of the district court's ruling, enabling same-sex marriages to resume; minutes afterward, plaintiffs Perry and Stier became the first couple in California to legally wed under state law since the enactment of Proposition 8 in 2008, doing so at San Francisco City Hall..