January 20th

01-20-1956 Bill Maher – Born in New York City, New York. He is an American stand-up comedian, host of Real Time, political commentator, satirist, author, and actor. He is a straight ally of the LGBT community. Maher has always supported marriage equality and LGBT equal rights. Maher has used his show to come down on the religious fundamentalist, Christians and Muslims alike. He also supports the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana.

“New Rule: Gay marriage won’t lead to dog marriage. It is not a slippery slope to rampant inter-species coupling. When women got the right to vote, it didn’t lead to hamsters voting. No court has extended the equal protection clause to salmon. And for the record, all marriages are “same sex” marriages. You get married, and every night, it’s the same sex.” (From his Real Time show on HBO)

01-20-1872 – 02-02-1957 Julia Morgan – Born in San Francisco, California. She was an American architect in California and designed more than 700 buildings in California, including Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. She was the first woman to be admitted to the architecture program in Paris and the first woman architect licensed in California. Morgan is also the first woman to receive the AIA Gold Medal, which she received posthumously in 2013. Little is known about her personal life, but she is thought to have been a lesbian. According to an article by Pat Craig, for the Mercury News, “there are many rumors about Morgan – from Paris paramours to secret lesbian tryst.” She kept a low profile, gave no interviews, and did not write about herself. She died at the age of 85 in 1957. In 2008, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

01-20-1944 – 06-17-1989 Pat Parker – Born in Houston, Texas. She was an African-American lesbian feminist poet. Parker began to identify as a lesbian in the late 1960s. In an interview with Anita Cornwell, she said that, “after my first relationship with a woman, I knew where I was going.” Parker was involved with the Black Panther Movement. In 1979 she toured with the Varied Voices of Black Women, a group of poets that included Linda Tillery, Mary Watkins, and Gwen Avery. Cheryl Clarke, another poet and peer, said Parker was a “lead voice and caller” in the world of lesbian poetry. Parker was also friends with Audre Lorde. They met in 1969 and continued to exchange letters and visits until Parker’s death in 1989. Parker died of breast cancer and was survived by her long-time partner Marty Dunham.

01-20-1959 Antonio D’Amico – Born in Mesagne, Italy. He is a model and fashion designer. D’Amico is best known as the life partner of Gianni Versace. He met Versace in 1982 and eventually began a long-term relationship that lasted 15 years, until Versace’s murder in 1997. During that time, he worked as designer for the Versace Sport line. He now runs his own fashion design company.

01-20-1979 Will Young – Born in Wokingham, United Kingdom. He is an English singer-songwriter and actor. In 2002 he won the British music contest Pop Idol making him the first winner of the Idol franchise. He has also acted in film, on stage, and in television. For his performance in the 2013 London revival of the musical Cabaret, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In March 2002, he publicly came out as gay, pre-empting a tabloid newspaper from outing him. He also stated that he had never hidden it and was comfortable with his sexual orientation.