Bayard Rustin

1912–1987

African-American civil rights activist credited as the chief organizer of the watershed 1963 March on Washington and advocate for gay and lesbian causes.

José Sarria

1922-2013

Army veteran, drag performer, politcal activist, first openly gay candidate for public office in the world, founder of the Imperial Court System.

Maurice Sendak

1928-2012

American writer and illustrator of beloved and groundbreaking children’s books who brought to life a luminous world of fantasy and imagination.

Randy Shilts

1951–1994

Influential author and journalist, the first openly gay reporter to cover LGBT issues for American mainstream media.

Gertrude Stein

1874–1946

Experimental American writer whose Paris salon brought together many of the artists and authors who would help define modernism in literature and art.

Rikki Streicher 

1926-1994
San Francisco entrepreneur and sports advocate who worked within the City’s bar culture to create social activism.

Gerry Studds

1937-2006

First openly gay member of the U.S. Congress and bold champion of civil rights, AIDS funding and marriage equality.

Lou Sullivan

1951-1991

Transgender historian and activist who challenged the denial of medical treatment to trans people who would be gay or lesbian after gender transition.

Alan Turing

1912–1954

British cryptanalyst, logician, philosopher and mathematician widely recognized as a pioneer of artificial intelligence and the father of computer science.

Chavela Vargas

1919-2012

Legendary Costa Rican-born, gender transgressive troubadour of Mexican song and cultural icon whose deeply moving performances expressed universal truths of romance, tenderness, heartbreak and hope.