March 17th in Queer History

Born this day

Alice Austen  (1866 –  1952),  US
Photographer

Bayard Rustin  (1912 –  1987)  US
Activist

Rudolf Nureyev (1938 - 1993) Russian

Dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.

Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn became longstanding dance partners and continued to dance together for many years after Nureyev's departure from the Royal Ballet. 

Nureyev met Erik Bruhn, the celebrated Danish dancer, after Nureyev defected to the West in 1961. Nureyev was a great admirer of Bruhn,, although stylistically the two dancers were very different. Bruhn and Nureyev became a couple and the two remained together for 25 years, until Bruhn's death in 1986

John Wayne Gacy  (1942 –  1994)  US
Serial Killer

Richard Kwietniowski  (1957 – )  UK
Director

Alexander Bard  (1961 – )  Swedish
Musician / Artist / Music Producer / Philosopher

Jeremy Sheffield  (1966 – ) UK
Actor / Dancer

Chris Steele  (1966 – )  US
Porn / Director / Producer

Finnegan the Poet  (1969 – )  US
Poet / Author / Performance Artist


Alexander McQueen (1969 - 2010 ) UK
Fashion Designer


Stephen Gately  (1976 –  2009)  Irish
Singer / Actor / Presenter

Saint's day

Saint Patrick of Ireland

Died this day

Luchino Visconti  (1906 – 1976) Italian  

Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is notably known for his films The Leopard (1963) and Death in Venice (1971).

Visconti made no secret of his homosexuality. His last partner was the Austrian actor Helmut Berger, who played Martin in Visconti's film The Damned. Berger also appeared in Visconti's Ludwig in 1972 and Conversation Piece in 1974 along with Burt Lancaster. Other lovers included Franco Zeffirelli, who also worked as part of the crew (i.e. production design, assistant director, etc.) in a number of Visconti's films and theatrical productions.

Ronnie Kray (1933 - 1995), UK
Criminal – Born 24th October
Ronald "Ronnie" Kray and his twin brother Reginald "Reggie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s. Ronald, commonly referred to as Ron or Ronnie, most likely suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The Krays were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, violent assaults including torture and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell. As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and politicians. The Krays were highly feared within their social environment, and in the 1960s they became celebrities in their own right, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television.

Perry Watkins  (1948 - 1996)  US
Soldier / Activist

Jermaine Stewart (1957 - 1997)  US
Singer / Songwriter / Dancer

Phool Chand Yadav  (?? - 2005) Indian
Murder Victim

Clodovil Hernandes (1937 - 2009 ) Brazilian
Fashion Designer / Politician / Presenter / Actor / Singer 

Sodomy in history, March 17th

1921 — In the Virgin Islands, the communities of St. Thomas and St. John pass a sodomy law with a penalty of up to 10 years, thus going off the Danish law. 

Sources:

Wikipedia

glbtq emcyclopedia

On this gay day

Calendar of Sodomy, March