Events this day in Queer History
2007 - Civil Unions become legal in Uruguay making it the first Latin Americannation to do so
Born this day
Percy Jocelyn (1764 – 1843) Irish .
Anglican bishop of Ferns and Leighlin in the Church of Ireland (1809–1820) and later bishop of Clogher from 1820 to 1822. He was forced from his position after he was caught in a compromising position with a Grenadier Guardsman, John Moverley, in the back room of a London public house. He and Moverley were released on bail, provided by the Earl of Roden and others. Jocelyn broke bail and moved to Scotland where he worked as a butler under an assumed name. He was declared deposed in his absence by the Metropolitan Court of Armagh in October 1822 for "the crimes of immorality, incontinence, Sodomitical practices, habits, and propensities, and neglect of his spiritual, judicial, and ministerial duties".
Jocelyn was the most senior British churchman to be involved in a public homosexual scandal in the 19th century.
Billy Strayhorn (1915 – 1967) US.
Composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".
He participated in many civil rights causes. As a committed friend to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he arranged and conducted "King Fought the Battle of 'Bam'" for the Ellington Orchestra in 1963 for the historical revue My People, dedicated to Dr. King.
Strayhorn was openly gay, and lived with his first partner, African-American musician Aaron Bridgers,until Bridgers moved to Paris in 1947.
Philippe Elan (1960 – ) French.
French born singer, living in Holland with his lover Gijs van der Grinten, a violinist of the Dutch Ballet Orchestra. Elan received a Edison (Dutch award) for his first album Chansons Classiques.
Martha Beck (1962 – ) US.
Sociologist, therapist, life coach and best-selling author. Beck is the daughter of deceased LDS (Mormon) scholar and apologist, Hugh Nibley. She received national attention after publication in 2005 of her best-seller, Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith in which she accuses her father of sexual abuse.
Both Martha Beck and her now ex-husband subsequently came out publicly as gay and have stated that they no longer consider homosexuality a form of compulsive behavior. In 2003, Beck separated from her husband, divorcing from him in 2004. She began living with her partner Karen Gerdes, a social worker and professor, during her marriage and has continued this relationship.
Guillaume Dustan (1965 – 2005) French.
Born William Baranès, Dustan was an openly gay French writer and journalist.
Simon Amstell (1979 – ). UK
A BAFTA nominated,award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.
Died this day
Cary Grant (1904 - 1986 ) UK/US
Archibald Alexander Leach, better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship. Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor and "dashing good looks", Grant is considered one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men.
Grant was married five times, but some, including Hedda Hopper and screenwriter Arthur Laurents, have said that Grant was bisexual, the latter writing that Grant "told me he threw pebbles at my window one night but was luckless". Grant allegedly was involved with costume designer Orry-Kelly when he first moved to Manhattan, and lived with Randolph Scott off and on for twelve years. Richard Blackwell wrote that Grant and Scott were "deeply, madly in love", and alleged eyewitness accounts of their physical affection have been published.
Sodomy laws in history, November 29
1876 — Utah outlaws sodomy.
1967 — A California appellate court rejects a privacy argument and upholds the constitutionality of the state’s "oral copulation" law.
Sources:
