September 11th

09-11-1885 – 03-02-1930 D.H. Lawrence (David Herbert Richards Lawrence) – Born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England. He was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic, and painter. In March 1912 Lawrence met Frieda Weekly, his life partner. While he was writing Women In Love in Cornwall during 1916-1917, Lawrence developed a strong and possibly romantic relationship with a Cornish farmer named William Henry Hocking. Although it is not clear if their relationship was sexual, Frieda said she believed it was. Lawrence’s fascination with the theme of homosexuality, which is overtly manifested in Women In Love, could be related to his own sexual orientation. In a letter written during 1913, he writes, “I should like to know why nearly every man that approaches greatness tends to homosexuality, whether he admits it or not…” He is also quoted as saying, “I believe the nearest I’ve come to perfect love was with a young coal-miner when I was about 16.” Lawrence is best known for his novels The Fox, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women In Love, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The Fox had a lesbian theme and was made into a film in 1967. Lawrence died at the age of 44 in Vence, France from complications of tuberculosis.

09-11-1911 – 10-02-1971 Bola de Nieve (born Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández) – Born in Guanabacoa, La Habana, Cuba. He was a Cuban singer-pianist and songwriter. He worked as a chauffeur and played piano for silent films. In the early 1930s, Cuban singer Rita Montaner hired Bola as an accompanist. Bola later developed his own original style as pianist and singer. He toured widely in Europe and the Americas. He was openly gay.

09-11-1913 – 06-15-2000 Barbara Macdonald – Born in Pomona, California. She was a social worker, lesbian feminist, and ageism activist. Her activism inspired the formation of the group Old Lesbians Organizing for Change. When she attended Santa Ana Junior College from 1932 to 1937, she was nearly expelled for being a lesbian. In 1974, she retired as a social worker and in the same year, she met Cynthia Rich, who was teaching a feminist workshop that Macdonald attended. In 1983, Macdonald and Rich, published Look Me in the Eye: Women, Aging and Ageism. Macdonald and Rich would be together for twenty-six years. In the last four years of her life, she suffered from debilitating memory loss. She died of Alzheimer’s disease on June 15, 2000.

09-11-1935 – 07-10-1991 Gerome Ragni – Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-author of the 1960s musical Hair. Even though he was married, he did have an intimate relationship with James Rado, according to an interview in The Advocate. Hair is a bisexual rock musical that changed the modern musical and helped turn public opinion against the Vietnam War. It was the first rock musical on Broadway, the first Broadway show to feature full nudity and the first to feature a same-sex kiss. At the center of Hair is a bisexual triangle between the character Berger, Sheila, and Claude. But the central love relationship in the show is between Claude and Berger, the characters based on the relationship of Rado and Ragni. There is also a love relationship between Sheila and Jeannie. The Broadway production got two Tony nominations, and the cast album went to number one, receiving a Grammy. The musical had four number one hit singles. In 1979, Hair was made into a film. Since 1967, Hair has been performed continuously around the world.

09-11-1940 Ted Olson (Theodore) – Born in Chicago, Illinois. He is an American lawyer and straight ally. Ted Olson and David Boles were the two lawyers retained by the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Both lawyers fought against CA Prop. 8 in court. His work on the lawsuit earned him a place among Time magazine’s 100’s greatest thinkers. In January 2010, Olson published a cover essay in Newsweek magazine entitled “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage.” In 2011 Olson and Boles were awarded the ABA Medal, the highest award of the American Bar Association. He has been one of the most outspoken advocates for gay marriage in the Republican party. Olson’s third wife, Barbara Kay Olson was a passenger on the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In 2006, Olson married Lady Booth, a tax attorney from Kentucky and a lifelong Democrat.

On September 11, 2001, Olson’s wife, Barbara Kay Olson, was killed on the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.

09-11-1948 Jewelle Gomez – Born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is an American author, poet, critic, and playwright. Gomez was raised by her great-grandmother, Grace, who was born on Indian land in Iowa to an African-American mother and Ioway (native American) father. During the 1960s, Gomez was involved with Black political and social movements, which is reflective in her writing. Her work often intersects and addresses multiple ethnicities, as well as lesbian and feminist issues. Her fiction and poetry are included in over one hundred anthologies. She has written literary and film criticism for many publications, including The Village Voice, The San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine, and Black Scholar. She and her wife, Dr. Diane Sabin, were among the litigants against the state of California suing for the right to legal marriage. They were among the 18,000 couples married in California before Prop. 8 was passed.

09-11-1962 Kristy McNichol – Born in Los Angeles, California. She is an American actress and singer. McNichol is known for her roles as Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence on the television drama series Family and as Barbara Weston on the sitcom Empty Nest. On January 6, 2012, she publicly announced she’s a lesbian and had been living with her partner, Martie Allen, for 20 years. She stated she chose to come out to help younger gay women deal with bullying.

09-11-1984 Mayssa Pessoa – Born in Joäo Pessoa, Brazil. She is a Brazilian handball goalkeeper who plays for CSM Bucuresti in the Romanian League and the Brazilian national team. She was one of nearly two dozen out LGBT Olympians at the London games. She was named All-Star Goalkeeper of the Pan American Championship, 2013. She also received the MVP of the Bucharest Trophy, 2014.