Countee Cullen, Christine Jorgensen, Eduard Stapel, Rituparno Ghosh, Christopher Marlowe
Born: Countee Cullen (1903), Christine Jorgensen (1926), Eduard Stapel (1953)
Died: Rituparno Ghosh (2013), Christopher Marlowe (1593)
Born on this day
30MayBorn 1903123rd birthday
Countee Cullen
His formally crafted poetry explored race, belief and beauty, while his private correspondence opens further questions about desire.
30MayBorn 1926100th birthdayChristine Jorgensen
Front-page coverage of her transition in 1952 made her a public figure who used celebrity to discuss trans lives.
30MayBorn 195373rd birthdayEduard Stapel
The Stasi set hundreds of informers on him – he built up the gay movement in East Germany under the roof of the Protestant church.
Died on this day
30MayDied 201313th anniversary of death
Rituparno Ghosh
One of India’s great filmmakers openly challenged gender norms on screen and in his own life.
30MayDied 1593433rd anniversary of deathChristopher Marlowe
His plays gave male desire a place on the Elizabethan stage, though the evidence about his own sexuality remains uncertain.