October 26th

10-26-1947 Hillary Rodham Clinton – Born in Chicago, Illinois. She is an American politician who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State. She was also the First Lady from 1993 to 2001 and served as Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. Clinton was a candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election. On December 6, 2011, she made a landmark speech to the United Nations on Human Rights and about the plight of the LGBT community, not only in the U.S. but in the world, it was a first. Clinton said, “Being LGBT does not make you less human, and that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” It was also the first time the U.S. announced that it will use diplomacy and $3 million in foreign aid to help the global fight for gay rights. She is a supporter of equal rights for all, including the LGBT community.

10-26-1862 – 10-21-1944   Hilma Af Klint –  Born in Karlberg Palace, Sweden. She was one of the first abstract artists. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Stockholm where she learned portraiture and landscape painting. She was one of very few women artists that had access to higher learning. At the age of 20, she was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1880, her younger sister Hermina died. It was at this time that Hilma became involved in spiritism. She belonged to a group of women artists called “The Five” that engaged in the paranormal and regularly organized séances. In 1906, she painted her first series of abstract paintings. Because she was a woman and a lesbian, she never dared to show her abstract work to her contemporaries. In her will, all of her abstract paintings were left to her nephew. She specified that her work should be kept secret for at least 20 years after her death. More than 1200 paintings and drawings were carefully stored. Today her paintings are owned and managed by the Hilma Af Klint Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.

10-26-1946 – 12-06-2015 Holly Woodlawn (Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakd) – Born in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. She was a transgender Puerto Rican actress and Warhol superstar. She appeared in two Warhol films, Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1972). Lou Reed refers to Woodlawn in his song Walk on the Wild Side, the opening verse describes her hitchhiking journey and gender transition— “Holly came from Miami, F-L-A. Hitched her way across the USA. Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.’” When Holly appeared in public she would dress as a dazzling alternative image of Jean Harlow. She thought of herself as a glamorous actress. In 1969, she had considered sex reassignment surgery but decided against it. In 1991, she published her autobiography, The Holly Woodlawn Story – A Low Life in High Heels with writer Jeff Copeland. In the early 2000s, she began performing cabaret shows in sold-out performances in New York and Los Angeles. Woodlawn died of brain and liver cancer in Los Angeles on December 6, 2015.

10-26-1900 – 04-24-1941 Karin Boye – Born in Gothenburg, Sweden. She was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden she is well known as a poet — internationally she is best remembered for her science fiction novel Kallocain (1940). Her novel, Crisis (Kris) depicts her religious crisis and lesbianism. Between 1929 and 1932 she was married to Leif Björck. The marriage was one of friendship and after separating from her husband, she had an affair with Gunnel Bergström, who left her husband, poet Gunna Ekelöf, for Boye. While in Berlin in 1932, she met Margot Hanel (April 7, 1912 – May 30, 1941), whom she lived with for the rest of her life, and referred to as “her wife.” Boye committed suicide, overdosing on sleeping pills. She was found by a farmer going for a walk on a hill curled up by a boulder. The boulder is now a memorial stone. Margot Hanel committed suicide soon after.

Karin Boye was given two very different epitaphs. The best-known is the poem “Dead Amazon” (Död amazon) by Hjalmar Gullberg, in which she is depicted as “Very dark and with large eyes”. Another poem was written by her close friend Ebbe Linde and is entitled “Dead friend” (Död kamrat). Here, she is depicted not as a heroic Amazon but as an ordinary human, small and grey in death, released from battles and pain.

A literary association dedicated to her work was created in 1983, keeping her work alive by spreading it among new readers. In 2004, one of the branches of the Uppsala University Library was named in her honour.

10-26-1953 Keith Strickland – Born in Athens, Georgia. American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and one of the founding members of the B-52’s. He is openly gay and made a video “It’s Gets Better” aimed at LGBT youth against bullying.

10-26-1955 Neil Meron – Born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. He is an American film producer known for producing the 2002 film, Chicago and the 2007 film, Hairspray. Meron and his partner, Craig Zadan, have produced the Oscars telecasts since the 85th Academy Awards.

10-26-1956 Neil Giuliano – Born in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is an American politician who served as mayor of Tempe, Arizona for four terms, from 1994 to 2004. Giuliano also served as President of GLADD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) from 2005 to 2009 and has served as CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation since being appointed in December 2o10. He has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and has appeared on CNN, ABC World News Tonight, Showbiz Tonight and, Access Hollywood, and has been quoted in Newsweek and USA Today and numerous state and regional media outlets discussing LGBT images in the media and issues.

10-26-1959 – 04-25-2018   Laura Aguilar – Born in San Gabriel, California. She was an American photographer. Aguilar is well known for her portraits that focused on marginalized communities including LGBT, Latinos, and obese people. Her work has appeared in more than 50 national and international exhibitions. In 2000 she received the Anonymous Was A Woman Award. She is listed as an LGBT artist. Aguilar died of complications from diabetes in Long Beach, California.

10-26-1982 Nicola Adams – Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. She is a British boxer and the first woman to win a gold medal for boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Adams is openly bisexual and was named the most influential LGBT person to win an Olympic boxing gold medal. At the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she was one of 49 out LGBT athletes to compete at the games.

10-26-1985 Soko (Stéphanie Sokolinski) – Born in Bordeaux, Occitania, France, from a Polish father and a French-Italian mother. She is a French singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. Soko has had sold-out concerts in Scandinavia, Britain, and Australia. In February 2010, she was nominated for France’s César Award for Most Promising Actress. Soko is vegan, refers to herself as “white goth” and identifies as bisexual. In early 2016 she dated American actress, Kristen Stewart, although they split up after a few months.

10-26-1987 Liliane Maestrini – Born in Vitória, Espirito Santo, Brazil. She is a Brazilian beach volleyball player. In 2007, she was the World U21 Champion. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she was one of 49 out LGBT athletes to compete at the games. In August 2013, Liliane married fellow player Larissa França.