Happy February Birthdays!
Born This Way On This Day
February isn’t just about chocolate hearts and Valentine’s Day cards—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:
02-01 = Gina Ortiz Jones (1981- ) = American intelligence officer and politician
02-01 = Langston Hughes (1901-1967) = American poet and activist
02-03 = Emile Griffith (1938-2013) = American boxer
02-03 = Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) = American expatriate writer
02-03 = Helen Stephens (1918-1994) = American sprinter
02-03 = Kenneth Anger (1927-2023) = American filmmaker and writer
02-03 = Li Yinhe (1952- ) = Chinese sociologist, sexologist, and LGBT activist
02-04 = Jared French (1905-1988) = American artist and photographer
02-04 = Jonathan Larson (1960-1996) = American composer and playwright
02-05 = William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) = American novelist and poet
02-06 = Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1665-1714) = English royalty
02-06 = Ramón Novarro (1899-1968) = Mexican Hollywood actor and sex symbol
02-07 = Dee Rees (1977- ) = American filmmaker (Pariah)
02-07 = Eddie Izzard (1962- ) = British comedian and actor
02-07 = Mark Tewksbury (1968- ) = Canadian swimmer and activist
02-08 = James Dean (1931-1955) = American film actor and cultural icon
02-08 = Ralph Chubb (1892-1960) = English poet, printer and artist
02-09 = Alice Walker (1944- ) = American writer
02-09 = Amy Lowell (1874-1925) = American poet
02-09 = Ari-Pekka Liukkonen (1989- ) = Finnish swimmer
02-09 = Holly Johnson (1960- ) = British singer-songwriter
02-10 = Bill Tilden (1893-1953) = American tennis player
02-10 = Charles Henri Ford (1908-2002) = American writer and artist
02-10 = Ken “Snakehips” Johnson (1914-1941) = British musician and bandleader
02-10 = Peter Allen (1944-1992) = Australian singer-songwriter and entertainer
02-11 = Ellen Day Hale (1855-1940) = American painter and printmaker
02-11 = Tammy Baldwin (1962- ) = American politician
02-12 = Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) = American lawyer and politician
02-12 = George Smitherman (1964- ) = Canadian politician
02-12 = Latrice Royale (1972- ) = American drag queen and tv personality
02-12 = Patricia Field (1941- ) = American costume designer and stylist
02-12 = Philip, Prince of Eulenburg (1847-1921) = German politician and diplomat
02-13 = Grant Wood (1891-1942) = American artist (American Gothic)
02-14 = Kevyn Aucoin (1962-2002) = American makeup artist and author
02-14 = Nina Hamnett (1890-1956) = British artist and lesbian icon
02-16 = John Schlesinger (1926-2003) = English film and stage director
02-17 = Peter Karlsson (1966-1995) = Swedish hockey player
02-18 = Audre Lorde (1934-1992) = American writer and civil rights activist
02-18 = Jillian Michaels (1974- ) = American trainer and tv personality
02-19 = Beth Ditto (1981- ) = American singer-songwriter
02-19 = Carson McCullers (1917-1967) = American writer
02-19 = F. O. Matthiessen (1902-1950) = American historian and literary critic
02-19 = Liz Carmouche (1984- ) = American mixed martial arts fighter
02-20 = John Browne (1948- ) = English business executive
02-20 = Roy Cohn (1927-1986) = American attorney during the McCarthy era
02-20 = William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (1872-1938) = British politician
02-21 = Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) = French writer
02-21 = Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) = American lawyer, educator, and politician
02-21 = Chuck Palahniuk (1962- ) = American writer
02-21 = David Geffen (1943- ) = American record executive and film producer
02-21 = Elliot Page (1987- ) = Canadian actor and film producer
02-21 = Hubert de Givenchy (1927-2018) = French fashion designer
02-21 = Isaac Julien (1960- ) = British filmmaker and visual artist
02-21 = John Henry Newman (1801-1890) = English theologian and cardinal
02-21 = W. H. Auden (1907-1973) = Anglo-American poet
02-22 = Billy Name (1940-2016) = American photographer and filmmaker
02-22 = Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) = American poet and playwright
02-22 = Jane Bowles (1917-1973) = American writer and playwright
02-23 = George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) = German-British composer
02-23 = Paul Morrissey (1938-2024) = American filmmaker
02-25 = Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997) = German artist
02-26 = Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) = English writer
02-26 = Jenna Wolfe (1974- ) = Jamaican-American anchor
02-26 = Mabel Dodge Luhan (1879-1962) = American heiress
02-26 = Mwanga Ii Of Buganda (1868-1903) = King of Bugandak
02-27 = Libby Davies (1953- ) = Canadian politician
02-28 = Kehinde Wiley (1977- ) = American artist
02-28 = Michel De Montaigne (1533-1592) = French philosopher
02-28 = Stephen Spender (1909-1995) = English writer