Top Ten LGBTQ People in History
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... 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.
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. After writing in different 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.
Adeline Virginia Woolf, born Stephen (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941), known professionally as Virginia Woolf, was an English writer and one of the foremost modernists of the 20th century.
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.
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."
Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known professionally as George Michael, was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham!.
Andy Warhol, born Andrew Warhola (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s.
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and a key figure in the scientific revolution. 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 (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave... read more
Hans Christian Andersen, often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875), was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children: his... read moreThe Newcomers
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest and famed for his powerful wide ranging operatic voice. Yes, the Metal God himself is gay.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy,... read more
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet . Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts .Although part of a prominent family with strong ties to its community, Dickinson lived much of her life in reclusive isolation .
While Dickinson was a prolific... 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 Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Tragically, he was killed the following year.
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.
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. 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.
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor and producer. He first became known for his role in the film and television series Pit Pony (1997–2000), for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award, and for recurring roles in Trailer Park Boys (2002) and ReGenesis... read more
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer, pianist and composer. Collaborating 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. He has... read more
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, born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson (18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990), was a Swedish-born American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s.Garbo was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress and received an honorary one in 1954 for her "luminous and unforgettable... read more
Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954), born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a Mexican painter known for her self-portraits.
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 fundraiser and a waitress. He is credited for his experimental and creative musical discography which has won praise and accolades for many critics and fans... read more
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty.
Gaius Julius Caesar, known by his cognomen Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician and military general who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.