Lorraine Hansberry, Sam Smith, Marco Pannella, James Tiptree Jr.
Born: Lorraine Hansberry (1930), Sam Smith (1992)
Died: Marco Pannella (2016), James Tiptree Jr. (1987)
Born on this day
19MayBorn 193096th birthday
Lorraine Hansberry
The first Black woman to have a play on Broadway wrote anonymous letters to a lesbian magazine about homophobia and feminism.
19MayBorn 199234th birthdaySam Smith
The soul singer with the falsetto voice came out as gay at the start of their career and as non-binary in 2019.
Died on this day
19MayDied 201610th anniversary of death
Marco Pannella
Italy’s great civil rights campaigner fought for divorce, abortion and gay rights with hunger strikes – and spoke openly about loving men and women.
19MayDied 198739th anniversary of deathJames Tiptree Jr.
A science-fiction writer whose male pen name unsettled assumptions about gender and authorship.