On this day
02
February

Dana International, Natalie Clifford Barney, Lou Harrison, Shila

Born: Dana International (1969)
Died: Natalie Clifford Barney (1972), Lou Harrison (2003), Shila (2025)

Born on this day

02FebBorn 196957th birthday

Dana International

Her 1998 Eurovision victory made her the contest’s first openly trans winner and brought her music to an international audience.

Died on this day

02FebDied 197254th anniversary of death

Natalie Clifford Barney

For sixty years her Paris salon was a meeting place for writers – and the centre of lesbian life in the city.

02FebDied 200323rd anniversary of death

Lou Harrison

A composer who built his own gamelan orchestras with his partner Bill Colvig – and wrote one of the first operas with an openly gay theme.

02FebDied 20251st anniversary of death

Shila

A leader of the Hijra community in south-eastern Bangladesh, she was murdered in her home in 2025 – her killers have not been convicted.