Queers in History: November 26th in Queer History

Events this day in Queer History

1978 - ABC aired a lesbian themed movie, A Question of Love, about a custody battle for one of the women's children.

1990 - The Minneapolis Minnesota civil rights commission ruled that Roman Catholic officials violated anti-discrimination laws by evicting Dignity from holding services in a church owned facility.

Born this day

Mary Edwards Walker (1832 – 1919), US.

Feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon, she is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. She volunteered with the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and served as a female surgeon. She was captured by Confederate forces after crossing enemy lines to treat wounded civilians and arrested as a spy. After the war she was approved for the Medal of Honor for her efforts.

After the war, Walker continued to live a nonconformist lifestyle. A strong advocate of dress reform, she wore men's clothing exclusively and was arrested on several occasions for impersonating a man. At her funeral, she was buried in a black suit, not a dress.

Emlyn Williams (1905 –1987),UK.

Welsh dramatist and actor.

Earl Wild (1915 –2010), US.

A pianist widely recognized as a leading virtuoso of his generation, Harold C. Schonberg called him a "super-virtuoso in the Horowitz class". He was known as well for his transcriptions of classical music and jazz, and was also a composer.

Alma Routsong [Isabel Miller](1924 – 1996), US.

A novelist, best known for her lesbian fiction, which she published under the pen name Isabel Miller

Richard Hall (1926 – ) US
Author

Wayland Flowers (1939 – 1988), US.

A puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame. His performances as "Wayland Flowers and Madame" were a major national success on stage and on screen in the 1970s and 1980s.

Felix Gonzales-Torres (1957 –1996), Cuban.

American, Cuban-born visual artist.

Cherry Jones (1956 - ), US.

Theater, film and television actress best known for her role as president of the United States on the FOX series “24.” A Broadway veteran, Jones is considered one of America’s foremost stage actresses. She has received two Tony Awards.

Simon Nkoli (1957 – 1998), South African.

Simon Tseko Nkoli was an anti-apartheid, gay rights and AIDS activist in South Africa. By coming out as gay while a political prisoner, he helped to make the African National Congress more supportive of gay rights. Later, GLOW (a gay activist group he founded) was instrumental in having South Africa become the first country in the world to have LGBT protection written into the state constitution. Other countries have since followed South Africa's lead.
Nkosi's role, (which therefore has global significance)has been recognized with several international awards.

Sue Wicks (1966 – ) US.
A former basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played with the New York Liberty from 1997 to 2002. She currently serves as a collegiate basketball coach.

John Amaechi (1970 – ), UK.

A retired American-born British basketball player who currently works as a psychologist, educator and political activist in Europe and the United States, John Amaechi was the first NBA player to speak publicly about being gay. In 2007, three years after retiring from pro basketball, he became one of only six male professional athletes in the four major U.S. sports to come out.
Esera Tuaolo, an NFL player who came out in 2002, said of Amaechi, “What John did is amazing. He does not know how many lives he’s saved by speaking the truth.”

Tammy Lynn Michaels (1974 – ), US.

Tammy Lynn Michaels (born Tammy Lynn Doring), also known by the surname Etheridge after marrying Melissa Etheridge, is an American actress, who was a regular cast member on the Warner Brothers Network television show Popular and guest-starred on the Showtime drama The L Word.

Jason Sechrest (1979 – ), US. Screenwriter

On-screen personality and writer in the adult industry. He has starred in numerous adult films, straight and gay, but only in non-sexual roles. His Web site caters to straight, gay and bisexual adult markets. Sechrest himself is bisexual. Arena magazine listed him as one of the "50 Most Powerful People in Porn" list along with Larry Flynt and Hugh Hefner. He has also been called "The Oprah of Porn"

Died this day

Winnaretta Singer (1865 - 1943 ) US.

Winnaretta Singer, Princesse Edmond de Polignac,was an American musical patron and heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. She had affairs with numerous women, never making attempts to conceal them, and never going for any great length of time without a female lover. She had these affairs during her own marriages and afterwards, and often with other married women. The affronted husband of one of her lovers once stood outside the princess's Venetian palazzo, declaring, "If you are half the man I think you are, you will come out here and fight me."

Peter Hujar (1934 - ), US.

Photographer, known for his black and white portraits, and also for farm animals and nudes. His most famous photograph is Candy Darling on Her Deathbed which was later used by the group Antony and the Johnsons as cover for their album I Am a Bird Now. The lover of artist David Wojnarowicz, Hujar died of AIDS complications in 1987.

Joey Stefano (1968 - 1994), US.

Joey Stefano's father died when he was 15. After several years of prostitution and hard-core drug use in New York City, Stefano moved to Los Angeles and quickly became a star in gay pornography. His image and success caught the attention of Madonna, who used him as a model in her 1992 book Sex.