Leo Varadkar, Binyavanga Wainaina, Gladys Bentley, Leonor Fini
Born: Leo Varadkar (1979), Binyavanga Wainaina (1971)
Died: Gladys Bentley (1960), Leonor Fini (1996)
Born on this day
18JanBorn 197947th birthday
Leo Varadkar
Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister came out in 2015, just months before the country voted for marriage equality.
18JanBorn 197155th birthdayBinyavanga Wainaina
His writing challenged clichés about Africa and made room for new literary voices and openly queer lives.
Died on this day
18JanDied 196066th anniversary of death
Gladys Bentley
A Harlem blues performer whose tuxedo, piano playing and desire for women challenged the rules of her time.
18JanDied 199630th anniversary of deathLeonor Fini
A surrealist painter of powerful women and sphinxes who lived for decades in a household with two men and her many cats.