March 8th

03-08-1887 – 09-24-1963 Lady Una Vincenzo Troubridge (born Margot Elena Gertrude Taylor) – She was raised in Montpelier Square, London, England. She was a British sculptor and translator. Troubridge was the long-time partner (28 years) of Radclyffe Hall. Hall and Troubridge met in 1915 through Troubridge’s cousin, singer Mabel Batten. Batten was Hall’s lover at the time. Batten died in 1916, and Hall and Troubridge moved in together the following year. Troubridge wrote about the intensity of their relationship in her diary: “I could not, having come to know her, imagine life without her.”

03-08-1896 – 01-25-1975 Charlotte Whitton – Born in Renfrew, Ontario. She was a Canadian feminist and politician. She was the first woman mayor of a major Canadian city, serving from 1951 to 1956, and again from 1960 to 1964. In 1934, she was named a Commander of the British Empire and in 1967, was made Officer of the Order of Canada. She made an appearance on the American TV show What’s My Line. She was accused of racism and anti-Semitism, although Whitton was well received by various Jewish organizations in her lifetime. From what I read, she seemed to be a “complete anglophile” and opposed all non-British immigration to Canada. Whitton never married and lived for years with Margaret Grier (1892-December 9, 1947). Her relationship with Grier did not become public until 1999, when the National Archives of Canada publicly released her personal papers that included many intimate letters between the two women. Upon her death, Whitton was buried alongside Grier at Thompson Hill Cemetery, Horton, Ontario, Canada. She is noted for saying, “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”

03-08-1964 Thomas Bezucha – Place of birth unknown. He is an American screenwriter and director. He wrote and directed Big Eden (2000) and The Family Stone (2005). He also directed Monte Carlo, which he co-wrote with April Blair. He is openly gay.

03-08-1966 Gregory Barker – Born in Worthing, Sussex, United Kingdom. He is a British Conservative Party politician. In May 201o, he was appointed Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change. He was married to heiress Celeste Harrison. In 2006, he left his wife for a man that was hired as an interior decorator. He did confirm that he is gay. He also voted in favor in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain.

03-08-1976   JoCasta Zamarripa – Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is an American politician who has represented the 8th district in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2010. In a July 2012 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, she stated that she is bisexual. In 2014, she was included in the annual “40 under 40” list in The Advocate.