LGBTQ History Month

LGBTQ History Month is celebrated each October in the United States. It was founded in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school history teacher who was the first openly gay public school teacher in the state. Wilson wanted a dedicated time to teach and honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, and gathered other teachers and community leaders to establish it. October was chosen in part because National Coming Out Day falls on October 11 and the month already held other markers of the movement. Since 2006 the group Equality Forum has coordinated content and highlighted a different LGBTQ figure each day of the month. The United Kingdom observes its own version in February.