Significant American gay rights activist Frank Kameny was born on 21 May 1925. Kameny spearheaded the effort to challenge the US government’s treatment of homosexuals and successfully worked to remove the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). He became the first openly gay candidate for Congress in 1971, and co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Washington D.C.

The Well of Loneliness, a lesbian novel by Radclyffe Hall, was published. It quickly became the target of a campaign and was banned just three weeks after it was published. Ironically, the publicity around the book and the campaign to ban it greatly increased public awareness and discussion of lesbianism. The book was made available again in 1949.

Alan Turing first reported to Bletchley Park on 4th September – the day after the war was declared. Here he would work to crack the Enigma code used to encrypt German messages, playing a crucial role in the Allied efforts against Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The Wolfenden Report was the result of a Government enquiry set up in 1954 eventually recommended decriminalisation of homosexual acts between two consenting adults. It was published on 3 September 1957.

The Minorities Research Group was formed in 1963. This was the first group to advocate for lesbian rights and interests. It promoted and conducted research into female homosexuality and disseminated information around lesbianism. The group published Arena 3, Britain’s first lesbian newsletter to discuss this research and the experiences of lesbians.

Partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales came about with The Sexual Offences Act 1967 which legalised homosexual acts between two men over 21 in private.

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall riots began when lesbians and gay men at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, New York, resisted police intimidation. Black butch lesbian drag king Stormé DeLarverie was hit over the head and handcuffed by police. She shouted ‘Why don’t you guys do something?’ to the crowd, which sparked the riot that went on for several nights.

The first Gay Liberation March took place in New York on June 28, 1970, a march, organised by Fred Sargeant, Craig Rodwell, Ellen Broidy and Linda Rhodes. This was the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

On the 13th October 1970, the first Gay Liberation Front meeting took place at LSE. It was attended by many notable names in the UK Gay Rights Movement, including one of our founders, Bev Jackson. In November 1970, Bev was interviewed by The Times during GLF’s first public demo at Highbury Fields. She said, “It is important to know that we are not ashamed to be homosexual.” A statement as true today as it was then.

Gay News launched in 1972 and ran until 1983. It reported on advances in gay rights, and on discrimination. It also campaigned for further pro-gay reforms, such as the equalisation of the age of consent.

First UK Gay Pride March in London happened on July 1 1972. Organised by the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), it was inspired by the Stonewall riots and took place on the Saturday closest to the anniversary of the riots. It started in Trafalgar Square and ended in Hyde Park.

Homosexuality removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and depathologized by the American Psychiatric Association.

The first lesbian kiss was broadcast in a drama called Girl. It saw Alison Steadman and Myra Frances share the first lesbian kiss on TV.

“Going into a gay venue for the first time in 1981 and thinking “here are my people”. When you have felt isolated from the norm, to see a room full of people just like you was absolute joy”

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) was started by activists Mark Ashton, Mike Jackson and their friends on 30 June 1984 in London, to fundraise to support a mining community in South Wales during the miners’ strike. More LGSM groups subsequently formed across the UK to support the miners.

In April 1987 UK’s first HIV/AIDS unit opened at Middlesex Hospital. When officially opening the unit Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales shook hands with a man who had the disease, publicly challenging the notion of skin-to-skin transmission and beginning to break down the stigma around HIV/AIDS.

In protest against Section 28 lesbian demonstrators abseiled onto the floor of the House of Lords chamber following the vote to approve it. Lesbian activists also invaded the BBC News studios during the six o’clock news to protest the law. Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 forbade local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality, or teaching about it as a possible family relationship.

The first gay kiss on a UK TV soap happened in Eastenders on 24 January 1989 when Colin Russell and Guido Smith shared a kiss, making UK TV history.

“The week-long Lesbian Summer School held at the London Women’s Ctr in the late 80s.” (Submitted by Nancy)

“The London gay scene in the 1990s – most of the venues have closed. Popstarz was wonderful!”

“Visiting The Bell pub in King’s Cross, London back in 1991. I was only 19 and not out, so being with other LGB people gave me a sense of belonging.”

“Before heading to the March on Washington in 1993, I decided to come out to my cousin and tell her why I was really coming to town since I planned to spend a night with their family. She immediately let out a ‘war whoop’ as she was planning on going too, and was a lesbian! I can’t say I anticipated that, but I knew at least she would be sympathetic. We both decided to tell our parents about each other and that opened up their ability to have someone in the family to talk to and know they weren’t alone. In the end my straight older brother went with us and we all spent the day together and we shortly both came out to our whole extended family.”  (submitted by Tim)

Conservative MP Edwina Currie proposes an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill to lower the age of consent for homosexual men to 16, in line with the age of consent for everyone else. The amendment was defeated and the age of consent was lowered to 18 – still not equal but a move in the right direction.

The first pre-watershed lesbian kiss and also the first lesbian kiss on a soap happened on Brookside between Margaret (Nicola Stephenson) and Beth (Anna Friel).

“1997 at London pride. The whistles, the chants, the safety and power that came with being the majority for the first time.

I got to the head of the march with my best friend and found a vantage point to sit and watc as a quarter of a million people like us come past. They were laughing, joking, calling out affirmations of normality. They were existing.

I was nearly 16, I’d been bullied and assaulted out of school, I’d run away from home, but sat in Trafalgar square, watching the jubilant crowd walk by, I felt part of something for the first time in my life.” (Submitted by Richard)

The UK Government announced it was lifting the ban on gay people serving in the military. Prior to this, anyone discovered to be gay in the military would face dismissal, removal of their medals, and even possible jail time.

The Age of Consent was equalised by The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 which brought the age of consent for homosexual sex down to 16, the same as for heterosexual sex. This came into effect on January 8, 2001.

Section 28 was repealed on March 29, 2000 in Scotland and  November 18, 2003 in England and Wales.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect, giving same-sex couples legal recognition and rights. The first ceremony was on 5 December 2005.

“One joyful moment in lesbian history for me was the introduction of civil partnerships in 2005. As someone who holds fairly traditional values around marriage and family, it was incredibly meaningful to see that I could honour my sexuality without giving up the structure I always hoped for—committing to one person, building a life together, and being recognised in a way that felt both legal and deeply personal. It showed me that being in a same-sex relationship didn’t mean letting go of the things I valued most—it meant I could have love, commitment, and stability, just like anyone else. That was a powerful and affirming moment.” (Submitted by Kim)

Gay marriage legislation which allowed same-sex marriage in England and Wales passed in Parliament in July 2013 and took effect on 29 March 2014. Legislation then passed in Scotland in February 2014 and went into effect 16 December 2014. (Northern Ireland passed legislation in 2019, with the first marriages taking place in February 2020)

The US Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges struck down state-level bans on same-sex marriage, effectively legalising gay marriage nationwide in the USA.