March 29th

03-29-1893 – 03-11-1932 Dora Carrington – Born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England. She was a British painter and decorative artist. She is known to have had an affair with Henrietta Bingham, and privately identified herself as a lesbian but the love of her life was Lytton Strachey, who was openly gay. In 1918, both Strachey and Carrington fell in love with Partridge, who was heterosexual. Partridge accepted the fact that Carrington would never leave Strachey and married her in 1921. The three of them lived together in a ménage à trois. Partridge did leave her for another woman. Carrington also had an affair with Julia Strachey, Strachey’s niece. Lytton Strachey died of cancer in January of 1932. Carrington, who saw no purpose in life without him, committed suicide two months after his death.

03-29-1942 Julie Goodyear – Born in Bury, Lancashire, England. She is an English television actress and media personality. She is best known for playing pub landlady Bet Lynch on British soap opera Coronation Street. She was with the series for 25 years. Her autobiography entitled Just Julie was released on Novemeber 3, 2006, in which she discussed her relationships with men and women.

03-29-1950 John Laird (California politician) – Born in Santa Rosa, California. One of two openly gay men to serve in the California State Assembly. He was Mayor of Santa Cruz in 1983, becoming one of the United States’ first openly gay mayors. Laird was appointed by Governor Brown, Jr. on January 5, 2011, as California’s Secretary for Natural Resources. He has been active with the lesbian and gay community, as a columnist for the Lavender Reader, a commentator on “Closet Free Radio”, and a founding member of the International Network of Gay and Lesbian Officials. While in the Assembly, he served as chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. Laird lives in Santa Cruz with his spouse John Flores. In 2019, Laird announced that he was running for District 17 State Senate seat. California’s 17th State Senate District spans the northern Central Coast, including the counties of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo and part of the counties of Monterey and Santa Clara.