Top Ten LGBTQ People in History

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet.

After writing in various forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his epigrams, his novel... read more

He was an aesthete and witty conversationalist who used subversive paradoxes in his plays. He had an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas while married with two kids and was later imprisoned for his homosexuality.

Frederick the Great

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II. 24 January 1712-17 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, later declaring himself King of Prussia after the annexation of Royal Prussia from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth... read more

His relationship with von Katte was tragic. They planned to run away to Britain because Frederick's father would violently beat him. However, they were caught, and both were punished. Von Katte's punishment was death, and Frederick was forced by his father to watch his lover's execution.
During the execution, Frederick begged, "Please forgive me, my dear Katte, in God's name, forgive me!" Hans simply replied, "If I had a thousand lives, I would sacrifice them all for you. There is nothing to forgive, I die for you with joy in my heart!"
Von Katte's death deeply affected Frederick, leading him into a period of depression. Some historians believe this event contributed to his ruthlessness in battle.

Virginia Woolf

Adeline Virginia Woolf, born Stephen on January 25, 1882, and deceased on March 28, 1941, was an English writer. She was a central figure in the literary movement known as modernism and a founding member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando... read more

Bayard Rustin

He was the main organizer of the Black civil rights movement, especially the March on Washington. He was openly gay but kept it out of the limelight.

Alexander von Humboldt

Prussian polymath Alexander von Humboldt led scientific expeditions to South America and Central Asia. He traveled with young companions, studying botany, geology, and geography.
Humboldt had many strong male friendships and romances with men, including Wilhelm Gabriel Wegener and Reinhardt von Haeften. To the latter, he declared, "Even if you must refuse me, treat me coldly with disdain, I should still want to be with you. The love I have for you is not just friendship or brotherly love, it is veneration."

George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known professionally as George Michael, was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist. He rose to fame in the 1980s as one-half of the pop duo Wham! with hits like Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Last Christmas.... read more

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928, and died on February 22, 1987, was an American artist and a leading figure in the Pop art movement. His works often explored the connections between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and mass advertising. Warhol's most iconic pieces include his... read more

Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. He is best known for formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation. Newton also made significant contributions... read more

English mathematician, astronomer, and physicist Isaac Newton developed the principles of modern physics, including the laws of motion. He also helped develop calculus and is credited as one of the great minds of the Scientific Revolution.
There has been speculation about him engaging in romantic relationships with his roommate John Wickens and Swiss mathematician Nicholas Fatio de Duillier.

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury was a Zanzibari‑born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen. He achieved fame for his flamboyant stage persona and remarkable four-octave vocal range.... read more

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen, often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen (April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875), was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. His popularity is not limited to children, as his stories... read more

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Antinous

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Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519), more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath. His areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany... read more

Rob Halford

Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford (born August 25, 1951) is an English singer and songwriter. He co-founded the heavy metal band Judas Priest in 1969 and has served as its lead vocalist throughout most of its history. Halford is often called the "Metal God" and is celebrated for his powerful, wide-ranging... read more

Yes, the Metal God himself is gay.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 - May 15, 1886) was an American poet born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She came from a prominent New England family but spent most of her life in quiet reclusion, writing poetry largely in private. Her reclusive lifestyle and personal letters have intrigued... read more

She lived a very private life, secretly writing more than a thousand poems, characterized by lyrical intensity and paradoxes. She had an intimate relationship with Susan Gilbert Dickinson, to whom she wrote many passionate love letters.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978) was an American politician and gay rights activist. He made history in 1977 when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay person elected to public office in California. His life was tragically cut short... read more

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, and economist. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and a chief architect of the nation's financial system.

An orphan from the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean, Alexander Hamilton is one of the seven Founding Fathers of the United States. He helped write 51 of the 85 articles in The Federalist Papers and was the first Secretary of the Treasury.
During the American Revolutionary War, as part of Washington's Continental Army, he met John Laurens. They shared a very intimate friendship, evident in the very suggestive letters Hamilton wrote to Laurens.

"Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my dear Laurens, to make it clear to you, through actions rather than words, that I love you."
A famous quote from one of Hamilton's letters to fellow soldier and abolitionist John Laurens.

Selma Lagerlöf

Baron von Steuben

He was a Major General who helped train George Washington's Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Before this, he was convicted of sodomy in his country of Prussia.
He still engaged in homosexual activities with William North, Benjamin Walker, and Peter Stephen Du Ponceau while training the Continental Army.

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, is an English singer, pianist, and composer. He has collaborated with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967 on more than 30 albums. John has sold over 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.... read more

Elliot Page

Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, was born on February 21, 1987, and is a Canadian actor and producer. He first became known for his role in the television series Pit Pony (1997-2000), which earned him a Young Artist Award nomination. He also appeared in recurring roles on Trailer Park Boys... read more

Julie d'Aubigny

A famous 17th-century French opera singer who once took holy vows to enter a convent just so she could have sex with a friend who had become a nun. She also had a habit of seducing women at parties, which would lead their husbands to challenge her to a duel.
She was an expert duelist and killed ten men like this.

Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo, born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson (September 18, 1905 - April 15, 1990), was a Swedish-born American film actress active during the 1920s and 1930s. She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress and received an honorary Oscar in 1954 for her "luminous and unforgettable... read more

David Bowie

David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie (January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016), was an English singer born in London, the son of a sales promotion officer and a housewife.

He earned praise for his experimental and creative music, winning numerous awards and gaining admiration from... read more

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 - July 13, 1954), born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, was a Mexican painter. She is best known for her self-portraits and works inspired by Mexican popular culture. Her art explored themes such as identity, gender, class, and postcolonialism in Mexican society... read more

Alexander the Great

Alexander III of Macedon (July 20/21, 356 BC - June 10/11, 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was the King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He created one of the largest empires in history by the age of thirty, stretching from Greece to northwest... read more