May 28th

05-28-1913 – 12-04-1989 May Swenson – Born in Bethany Beach, Delaware. She was an American poet and playwright born in Logan Utah. Swenson was the eldest of ten children in a Mormon household where Swedish was spoken regularly and English was a second language. As a lesbian, she was shunned by her family for religious reasons. She is considered one of the most important and original poets of the 20th century. She and her partner, Pearl Schwartz, became known for the parties they hosted in their Perry St. apartment. Swenson divided her parties into two types — the “literary” parties and the “gay” parties — although there was quite a bit of crossover among the guests. She sold her first book, Another Animal (1954), on her 40th birthday.

05-28-1960 Mary Portas – Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. She is an English retail consultant and broadcaster. Portas is credited for turning the Harvey Nichols store into a leading modern fashion brand. Her groundbreaking Harvey Nichols window displays became part of the guided tours of London. By the age of 30, Portas was a member of the company’s board. In 1997, she started her own agency, Yellowdoor, which has made its mark in the creative advertising for such clients as Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Dunhill, Patek Phillippe, and Mercedes-Benz. After 14 years of marriage, she divorced her husband. Portas now lives with her wife, Melanie Rickey. At one minute past midnight on December 10, 2014, she and Rickey became one of the first couples in the UK to convert their civil partnership to a marriage.

05-28-1960 Corine Mauch – Born in Iowa City, Iowa. Swiss Social Democrat politician. She is the first female and first openly gay person to be elected mayor of Zurich. She was elected mayor in March 2009, after ten years on the city council. Mauch is the daughter of Ursula Mauch, who led the Social Democratic Party in the federal parliament. Mauch grew up in the canton of Aargau. In 2012 Mauch began the procedure to renounce her United States citizenship. Her office confirmed media reports of the renunciation in April 2013.

05-28-1981   Aaron Schock – Born in Morris, Minnesota. He is a former American politician who was Republican U.S. Representative for Illinois’s 18th congressional district from 2009 until 2015. Schock resigned from Congress in March 2015 amid a scandal involving his use of public and campaign funds for his own personal use. In 2016, a federal grand jury indicted him. He and the prosecutors reached a plea agreement. All charges were dropped in return for a period of good behavior and payment of $100,000 in restitution. Schock had a voting record of consistently opposing LGBT rights. He came out as gay in March 2020.