The Legacy Project

09/05/2026

Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of FREDDIE MERCURY, gay lead singer of the glitter rock band Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the Champions, Don’t Stop Me Now, Another One Bites the Dust, We Will Rock You, You’re My Best Friend). Mercury’s hyper-sexualized appeal combined with his raw talent to transform contemporary music – catapulting Queen into the pantheon of ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ while turning Mercury into a legend in his own time. He was born on September 5, 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar. His bronze memorial on the Legacy Walk can be found at 3246 N. Halsted. Read more about 2020 Legacy Walk Inductee Freddie Mercury at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/freddie-mercury

09/04/2026

Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of writer MARY RENAULT (The Persian Boy, The Last of the W**e, The Charioteer). By deftly blending arcane historical facts with intense narrative, Renault fleshed out complex historical figures and their relationships. LGBTQ readers will always laud her work to bring the bisexuality of Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, into the public realm through meticulously realized historical dramas. She was born on September 4, 1905 in Forest Gate, Essex, England. To learn more about Mary Renault please check out… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/mary-renault

09/03/2026

The Legacy Project commemorates the September 3, 2005 premier of Oscar-winner Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as teenage cowboys who embarked on a life-long affair in the 1960s. It was released to critical acclaim, modest financial success, and eventually won three Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Score. The film – which raised a great deal of awareness about gay relationships at the height of the nation’s anti-gay-marriage hysteria – was a watershed in film history. To read more about this beautiful film go to… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokeback_Mountain

09/02/2026

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of Oscar-nominated actress and jazz/blues/gospel vocalist ETHEL WATERS (The Member of the Wedding, Pinky, Cabin in the Sky) – whose autobiography was called His Eye is on the Sparrow. She died of heart disease on September 1, 1977 at age 80 in Chatsworth, CA. Her best remembered recordings include Stormy Weather, Miss Otis Regrets, and Am I Blue? To learn more about Legacy Project Nominee check-out… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/ethel-waters

09/02/2026

SEPTEMEBR 1985: A NEW ERA BEGINS IN LGBTQ/AIDS HISTORY
The Legacy Project commemorates the September 1985 merger of two related organizations – the AIDS Medical Foundation and the National AIDS Research Foundation – into one powerhouse: The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). Established through the commitment of Dr. Mathilde Krim and Dame Elizabeth Taylor (shown) and Dr. Michael S. Gottlieb, amfAR continues to lead the battle to find a cure for the worst epidemic in modern times. To learn more about amfAR check out http://www.amfar.org/about.html

08/30/2026

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1958
Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of DANIEL SOTOMAYOR – the first nationally syndicated openly gay political cartoonist – who was born in Chicago, IL on August 30, 1958. Daniel, who was co-founder of ACT-UP/Chicago, would eventually turn his considerable drawing talent to capturing the riveting, horrifying (and often inspiring) history of AIDS between 1988 and 1992 in nearly 150 brilliantly executed cartoons. His activism changed Chicago politics – both gay and straight – forever. There will never be another activist like him. Daniel was inducted onto Chicago’s award-winning “Legacy Walk” outdoor LGBTQ History Museum on October 15, 2022. The Legacy Project is also the curator of the Sotomayor Collection. To read more about Daniel Sotomayor check-out… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/daniel-sotomayor

08/30/2026

TODAY IN LGBT HISTORY: 1956
Psychologist (and straight ally) DR. EVELYN HO**ER delivers her paper The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Convention in Chicago on August 30, 1956. Her research findings indicated that heterosexuals and homosexuals do not significantly differ from eachother; which becomes a milestone in the rapidly shifting clinical perception of homosexuality. To learn more about one of our most influential allies check out… http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/02/myth-buster.aspx

08/27/2026

Fascinating.

As a civil servant, Katherine Ott took an oath to uphold the Constitution. To them, that means preserving q***r history.

08/26/2026

Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of gay author CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD (A Single Man, The Berlin Diaries, Christopher and His Kind). Perhaps associated most with “Cabaret”, which was adapted from his work “I Am A Camera”, he would become a vital literary voice capturing the last days of the Weimar Republic before the rise of Adolf Hi**er. Isherwood was born on August 26, 1904 in Cheshire, England. Learn more about this extraordinarily influential literary voice at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/christopher-isherwood

08/25/2026

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of researcher and sexologist DR. ALFRED KINSEY (S*xual Behavior in the Human Male, S*xual Behavior in the Human Female). The founder of the Institute for S*x Research at Indiana University (1947) passed away on August 25 from of a heart ailment and pneumonia in 1956 in Bloomington, IN. He was 62. Read more about 2012 Legacy Walk Inductee at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/alfred-kinsey