Happy October Birthdays!
Born This Way On This Day
October isn’t just about spooky season and pumpkin spice—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:
10-01 = George Cecil Ives (1867-1950) = English writer and activist
10-01 = Klaus Wowereit (1953- ) = German politician
10-02 = Annie Leibovitz (1949- ) = American portrait photographer
10-02 = Claude Phillips (1846-1924) = British writer, art historian and critic
10-02 = Jan Morris (1926-2020) = Welsh travel writer and historian
10-03 = Eleonora Duse (1858-1924) = Italian actor
10-03 = Erik Bruhn (1928-1986) = Danish ballet dancer and choreographer
10-03 = Gore Vidal (1925-2012) = American writer and activist
10-04 = Alan L. Hart (1890-1962) = American physician and researcher
10-04 = Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (1942- ) = Icelandic politician
10-04 = Terri L. Jewell (1954-1995) = American writer and activist
10-05 = Carlos Almaraz (1941-1989) = Mexican-American artist
10-05 = Chevalier d'Éon (1728-1810) = French diplomat, spy, and soldier
10-05 = Clive Barker (1952- ) = British author, filmmaker, and artist
10-05 = Glyn Philpot (1884-1937) = British artist
10-05 = John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) = English poet and literary critic
10-06 = Bruno Balz (1902-1988) = German songwriter
10-06 = Herbert Rusche (1952- ) = German politician and activist
10-06 = Irving Rosenthal (1930- ) = American writer, editor, and activist
10-06 = Jenni Olson (1962- ) = American filmmaker and LGBTQ film historian
10-06 = Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) = Polish composer and pianist
10-07 = Dan Savage (1964- ) = American sex advice columnist
10-07 = Herbert List (1903-1975) = German-American photographer
10-08 = Kristanna Loken (1979- ) = American model and actor
10-09 = Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908) = American sculptor
10-09 = R.G. Harper Pennington (1854-1920) = American artist
10-09 = Simeon Solomon (1840-1905) = British painter
10-10 = Ambrosia Tønnesen (1859-1948) = Norwegian artist
10-10 = Wade MacLauchlan (1954- ) = Canadian politician
10-11 = Cleve Jones (1954- ) = American activist and AIDS Memorial Quilt founder
10-11 = Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) = American diplomat and former FLOTUS
10-11 = Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) = American dancer and choreographer
10-11 = Matt Bomer (1977- ) = American actor
10-11 = Peter Hujar (1934-1987) = American photographer
10-11 = Peter Thiel (1967- ) = American entrepreneur
10-12 = Xulhaz Mannan (1976-2016) = Bangladeshi magazine editor and activist
10-13 = Ian Thorpe (1982- ) = Australian freestyle swimmer
10-14 = Ben Whishaw (1980- ) = English actor
10-14 = Isaac Mizrahi (1961- ) = American fashion designer and tv presenter
10-14 = Ruth Bernhard (1905-2006) = American photographer
10-14 = Udo Kier (1944- ) = German actor
10-14 = Vernon Lee (1856-1935) = British writer
10-15 = Jenna Talackova, Canadian model and tv personality
10-15 = Michel Foucault (1926-1984) = French philosopher
10-16 = André Leon Talley (1948-2022) = American stylist and creative director
10-16 = Cressida Dick (1960- ) = British police commissioner
10-16 = Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) = Irish poet and playwright
10-16 = Paul Monette (1945-1995) = American writer and activist
10-17 = Donatello (1386-1466) = Italian Renaissance sculptor known for "David"
10-17 = Laura Nyro (1947-1997) = American songwriter, singer, and pianist
10-17 = Mark Gatiss (1966- ) = English actor, screenwriter and novelist
10-17 = Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) = American actor
10-17 = Ryan McGinley (1977- ) = American photographer
10-18 = Brittney Griner (1990- ) = American basketball player
10-18 = David Grainger Whitney (1939-2005) = American curator and editor
10-18 = Martina Navratilova (1956- ) = American tennis player
10-18 = Uzi Even (1940- ) = Israeli professor and politician
10-19 = Divine (1945-1988) = American drag queen and actor (Glenn Milstead)
10-19 = George Nader (1921-2002) = American actor
10-19 = Robert Reed (1932-1992) = American actor
10-20 = Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) = French poet
10-20 = Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989) = Nigerian-born British photographer
10-21 = Andrew Scott (1976- ) = Irish actor
10-21 = Greer Lankton (1958-1996) = American artist
10-21 = Megan Smith (1964- ) = American engineer and technologist
10-21 = Peter Mandelson (1953- ) = British politician
10-21 = William Dale Jennings (1917-2000) = American activist writer
10-22 = Bill Condon (1955- ) = American filmmaker
10-22 = Brian Boitano, American figure skater
10-22 = Lord Alfred Douglas (1870-1945) = British poet and translator
10-22 = Marc Shaiman (1959- ) = American composer and lyricist
10-22 = Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) = American artist
10-22 = Saffron Burrows (1972- ) = English actor
10-23 = Augusten Burroughs (1965- ) = American writer
10-23 = Ireland Baldwin (1995- ) = American model
10-23 = Jean Acker (1893-1978) = American actor
10-23 = Lilyan Tashman (1896-1934) = American actor
10-23 = Robert Opel (1939-1979) = American artist (“The Oscar Streaker”)
10-24 = August von Platen-Hallermünde (1796-1835) = German poet
10-24 = Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (1895-1964) = French aristocrat
10-25 = Chely Wright (1970- ) = American country singer-songwriter
10-25 = Claude Cahun (1894-1954) = French artist, photographer, and writer
10-25 = Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (1940- ) = American author and activist
10-26 = Glen Murray (1957- ) = Canadian politician
10-26 = Holly Woodlawn (1946-2015) = American actor and Warhol superstar
10-26 = Liliane Maestrini (1987- ) = Brazilian beach volleyball player
10-27 = Katherine Bradley (1846-1914) = English poet
10-28 = Anna Elizabeth Klumpke (1856-1942) = American artist
10-28 = Caitlyn Jenner (1949- ) = American athlete and media personality
10-28 = Francis Bacon (1909-1992) = Irish painter
10-28 = Frank Ocean (1987- ) = American singer-songwriter
10-29 = Alonzo Hanagan (1911-1998) = American photographer (Lon Of NY)
10-29 = Ann-Marie MacDonald (1958- ) = Canadian writer and actor
10-29 = Michelle Brooke-Marciniak (1973- ) = American basketball player
10-30 = Louise Abbéma (1853-1927) = French artist
10-30 = Timothy Findley (1930-2002) = Canadian novelist and playwright
10-31 = Marie Laurencin (1883-1956) = French artist
10-31 = Natalie Clifford Barney (1876-1972) = American writer