LGBTQ+ Landmarks Throughout History
Below are just a handful of the significant events that have occurred within, or impacted, the LGBTQ+ community in the United States. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a starting point for understanding the Gay Rights Movement and how it continues to influence lives today.
To learn more about LGBTQ+ history and the people who lived through these events, check out the Research Resources page.
NOTE: Some resources on this page may only be available to Jefferson College students, faculty, and staff. For non-Jefferson College users, please come into the library for access.
- LGBTQ+ History TimelineAn interactive timeline of significant events in LGBTQ+ history, all the way up until 2022.
Daughters of Bilitis Founded (1955)
- Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)
One of the first lesbian organizations to be established. Founded in San Francisco in 1955, the organization took its name from a collection of poems written by Pierre Louÿs called Songs of Bilitis. Bilitis was a female character who was romantically associated with Sappho, the female Greek lyric poet.
ACT UP and the AIDS Epidemic (1980s)
ACT UP: Combating the AIDS Epidemic
ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is an organization founded to combat the spread of the AIDS epidemic in 1987. It continues to pursue advocacy for AIDS awareness and treatment, with over 70 chapters around the world.
Learn about the AIDS Memorial Quilt here.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell (1993-2011)
- Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)DADT (1993–2011) was the official U.S. policy regarding the service of homosexuals in the military. The term was coined after Pres. Clinton signed a law directing that military personnel “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass.” When it went into effect on October 1, 1993, the policy theoretically lifted a ban on homosexual service that had been instituted during World War II, though it continued a statutory ban. In December 2010, both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted to repeal the policy. The policy officially ended on September 20, 2011.
First Transgender Day of Remembrance (1999)
- First Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th.
Respect for Marriage Act (2022)
- Respect for Marriage Act (2022)Passed by Congress in December 2022, this federal legislation defines marriage as a legal union between two individuals that is valid in the U.S. state, territory, or possession in which it was entered into. In addition, it requires every U.S. state, territory, or possession to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial (or interethnic) marriages duly performed in any other U.S. jurisdiction. The act formally repealed the federal Defense of Marriage Act (1996).
Stonewall Inn Riots (1969)
- Stonewall Inn Riots
June 28-29, 1969: Violent clashes between several thousand angry protesters and the New York City police at the Stonewall Inn bar in Greenwich Village. For many, the riot represents the birth of the gay and lesbian rights movement. - International Impacts of the Stonewall RiotsThe Stonewall riots are often credited as the spark that set gay liberation alight, not just in the United States, but around the Western world.
Defense of Marriage Act (1996-2013)
- Defense of Marriage Act (1996-2013)DOMA was a law in force from 1996 to 2013 that specifically denied same-sex couples to all benefits and recognition given to opposite-sex couples. It was struck down in 2013 after the UNITED STATES v. WINDSOR trial, though it would not be officially repealed until 2022.
Same-Sex Marriage Legalization (2015)
- Obergefell v. HodgesThe Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state.