February 10th

02-10-1893 – 06-05-1953 Bill Tilden II – Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years. He won Wimbledon three times, 1920, 1921, and 1930. In total, he won 14 Major singles titles, including 10 Grand Slams, 1 World Hard Court Championship, and 3 Pro Slams. He also won a record 7 U.S. Championship titles. His homosexuality was known but not discussed during the 1920s, the decade he dominated tennis. He was arrested twice on sexuality and morals charges, the first time in November of 1946 and again in January, 1949. Both arrests involved young boys, one 14 , the other 16. He went to jail both times. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1959.

02-10-1908 – 09-27-2002 Charles Henri Ford – Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Ford was an American poet, novelist, filmmaker, photographer, and collage artist, best known for his editorship of the Surrealist magazine View (1940-1947) in New York City. He dropped out of school and by age 16 had started his first magazine, Blues (subtitled “A Bisexual Bimonthly”). He went to Paris and became part of Gertrude Stein’s salon. His life-partner was artist Pavel Tchelitchew until his death in 1957. Ford returned from Rome, Italy to the U.S. in 1962 where he lived for many years in The Dakota apartment building in New York City.

02-10-1920 – 12-10-2010 Adele Starr – Born in Brooklyn, New York,. She and her husband moved to the Los Angles area in 1951. It was when Philip Starr, the couple’s second son, came out to his parents in 1974, that his mother got involved with gay rights. Although the gay rights movement was well underway by then he recalled, “being gay was still seen as a mental illness.” In 1976, Adele Starr founded the Los Angeles chapter of PFLAG. In 1979, she spoke on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at a march for gay rights. Two years later, she became PFLAG’s first national president; she served in that capacity until 1986 and remained a forceful advocate for civil rights and, in later years for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

02-10-1944 – 06-18-1992 Peter Allen – Born in Tenterfield, Australia. He was an Australian singer, songwriter, pianist, and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester, and Olivia Newton-John. In 1981, Arthur’s Theme won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Allen was the first husband of Liza Minnelli. They divorced after 7 years of marriage. He later came out as gay. Both he and his long-term partner, Gregory Connell, died from AIDS-related illnesses.

02-10-1958 John Yang – Born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He is a Chinese-American newscaster and journalist. Yang is an American Peabody Award-winning television news correspondent, commentator, and journalist. He is one of only a few openly gay national television correspondents.

02-10-1967 Laura Dern – Born in Los Angeles, California. She is an LGBT supporter. She played Ellen’s love interest when she came out on her show in the famous 1997 “The Puppy Episode.” On the April 24, 2007 airing of DeGeneres’s talk show, Dern revealed she did not work for more than a year following her appearance in that episode because of resulting backlash, but nevertheless called it an “extraordinary experience and opportunity.” She is an American actress, film director, and producer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1991 for her performance in the film Rambling Rose. In 2014 she received her second Academy Award nomination for the work in the film Wild. In 2020, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film Marriage Story. She is the daughter of Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.

02-10-1968 Anne R. Kaiser – Born in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. In 2014 she was elected to her fourth term as one of three members of the House of Delegates from Maryland’s 14th District. Beginning with the 2015 legislative session, Anne serves as the Majority Leader in the Maryland House of Delegates. On February 23, 2013, Kaiser became engaged to her long-time partner, Nancy C. Lineman. They were married on November 2nd, 2013. The couple lives in the Calverton neighborhood of Silver Spring with their 3 cats and 1 dog.

02-10-1974 Ivri Lider – Born in Givat Haim, Israel. He is an Israeli musician and pop star. On Out’s 3rd Annual 100 Most Eligible Bachelors (2013). He is one of the biggest-selling contemporary artists in Israeli music, and has won the Male Singer of the Year award from Israeli national and local radio stations since entering the Israeli music scene in the late 1990s. He has sold more that 200,000 records. He came out gay publicly after the release of his second album.

02-10-1981 Stephanie Beatriz – Bonr in Neuquén, Argentina. She is an Argentine-born American actress best known for playing Detective Rosa Diaz in the FOX comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In July 2016, Beatriz revealed that she is bisexual.