Timeline: Brief Overview of LGBT History in Last 100 Years

Jan 1, 1892

Alice Mitchell murders Freda Ward after their plans to elope fall through

The subsequent trial becomes a national media sensation and Mitchell is committed to an insane asylum. This case inspired several novels that portrayed lesbians as evil and violent (Mary Wilkins Freeman's "The Long Arm," Mary Hatch's "The Strange Disappearance of Eugene Comstock.")

Jan 1, 1892

In a Chicago medical journal, the earliest known use

of the word "homosexual" is used

Jan 1, 1895

Oscar Wilde convicted of "gross indecency between males"

Trial raises the public awareness of homosexuality and his sentence of two years' hard labor inspires fear amongst the LGBT community

Jan 1, 1920

Military classifies sodomy, both oral and anal sex,

as a crime and begins dishonorably discharging soldiers suspected to be homosexuals

Jan 1, 1930

Sex crime panic sweeps nation and allows

for passage of state laws for involuntary confinement of "sexual psychopaths"

Jan 1, 1941

During WWII, psychiatrists screen for homosexuality

and reject an estimated 4,000-5,000 men

Jan 1, 1951

The Homosexual in America by Donald Webster Cory

First widely read insider account of LGBT community, declaring that homosexuals are a minority and deserve equal rights

Jan 1, 1960

First national lesbian conference sponsored by

the Daughters of Bilitis

Jan 1, 1961

Illinois is first state to decriminalize homosexuality

Jan 1, 1963

First gay rights pickets and march on Washington

Jan 1, 1965

Founding of first state-chartered gay organization

in the South (AtheneumSociety)

Jan 1, 1966

First gay community center opens in San Francisco

Jan 1, 1967

First gay campus group formed (NYC Columbia College)

Jan 1, 1972

Formation of Gay Liberation Front

Jan 1, 1973

American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality as a mental disorder

Jan 1, 1979

March on Washington draws 200,000

Jan 1, 1981

Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) identified by CDC

AIDS

Jan 1, 1986

First openly lesbian couple granted legal joint adoption (Calif.)

Jan 1, 1988

First Annual Coming Out Day celebrated

Apr 25, 1993

March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation

largest demonstration in American history to that time

Sep 1, 1996

Defense of Marriage Act

Overwhelmingly passed in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages that may be legal in other states and denies numerous federal benefits to same-sex couples

Jan 1, 1998

Wisconsin Rep 1st openly lesbian member of Congress

Tammy Baldwin - 1st member of federal office who was open about LGBT status from beginning of campaigning

May 28, 1998

President Bill Clinton issues executive order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

Oct 7, 1998

Brutal murder of Matthew Shepard leads to worldwide protests to include LGBT people in hate crimes legislation

Jan 1, 1999

Setback for transgender rights when Texas court negates marriage of Christie Littleton, a transgender woman

Jul 1, 2000

Vermont enacts the first statewide civil union law

Access to state benefits

Sep 13, 2001

Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson blame LGBT people, pagans, feminists and abortion providers for 9/11

"God's judgment on America."

Jan 1, 2003

Groundbreaking case in Florida in which a judge finds Michael Kantaras, a transgender man, is legally male

Judge further determines he was legally married to his former wife and grants custody of their two children to him.

Jan 1, 2003

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court rules that sodomy laws violate the constitutional right to privacy

Lawrence vs. Texas - this ruling voided all sodomy laws that still existed in 13 states (including Idaho, which the punishment if convicted was 5 years to life imprisonment).

Jan 1, 2003

To address needs of transgender students,

Wesleyan University creates gender-free resident halls and unisex bathrooms

Jun 7, 2003

Reverend Gene Robinson elected and confirmed as bishop in New Hampshire, the first openly LGBT bishop in the Episcopal Church

Jan 1, 2004

Massachusetts legalizes gay marriage

Jul 1, 2006

Federal Marriage Amendment fails to pass

, which would limit marriage to one man and one woman

Aug 7, 2007

First ever presidential candidate forum held on LGBT issues

The Logo cable channel hosts the first presidential forum in the United States focusing specifically on LGBT issues. Six Democratic Party candidates participate in the event. GOP candidates were asked to attend but turned it down.

Jan 1, 2008