Harvey Milk (1930-1978)

Harvey Milk (1930 to 1978) was an American politician and one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. Born in New York, he settled in San Francisco's Castro district, where he built a coalition of LGBTQ+ people, union workers, and small business owners. After several campaigns he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and took office in January 1978. That November, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in City Hall by Dan White, a former supervisor. Milk became a lasting symbol of the fight for gay rights, and his message of hope still resonates. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.