From a young age, we were taught about the great achievements of men that were crucial for the development of society, and in recent times, we were able to learn about women’s contributions to the fields of science, art, and literature, as they were able to rise from the footnotes of the history books, owing to the rise of the feminist movement worldwide. But we, as a society, still aren’t made aware of many important inventions and contributions to society by people in the LGBTQ+ community. In this article, we hope to introduce you to a few of these great people.
Alan L. Hart
Alan L. Hart was an American physician, radiologist, and writer, most known for his contributions to the detection of early-stage tuberculosis using X-rays. He was also one of the first trans men to undergo a hysterectomy in the US. Throughout his life, his parents were very supportive of his gender expression, which is a crucial reason why Alan was able to thrive in his career, as he went on to be a key figure in the detection and treatment of tuberculosis, which was a very fatal disease in America during Hart’s time.
Alan Turing
It is infuriatingly tragic how the world has treated a man who played a crucial role in ending the Second World War, while also laying the groundwork for the modern computer. Alan Turing, widely considered the Father of theoretical computer science, was a man so visionary that he had ideas about technology that we nowadays call AI, and that too during the 1940s. Alan Turing was a key figure in World War II against Germany, tasked with breaking German ciphers that enabled the Allied Powers to win the war. He formalized the concepts of algorithm and computation with his revolutionary Turing Machine. Alan was a man way ahead of his time, in terms of both his genius ideas and his choices concerning his sexuality. Alan was a gay man, which was a criminal offence in Britain during that time. Alan gave Britain an upper hand in the war and gave the world the foundation for the modern computer, and what did he get in return? He was publicly shamed by the government he devoted his life to. He was given the choice between prison and hormonal treatment. Alan committed suicide at the age of 41, under all the humiliation and torture. Had this man been alive and received the respect he deserved, who knows what technological advancements he would have brought to the world?
Lynn Conway
Lynn Conway was an American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and trans rights activist. Conway’s life as a trans woman was one with many hardships and obstacles. She worked at IBM and made key advancements in improving performance for modern computers, but was later fired when she made the decision to undergo a gender transition. She also had two children, but after the end of her marriage, she couldn’t meet her children due to legal constraints as a trans woman. But all this wasn’t enough to quell her flame, as she went on to co-lead a revolution in VLSI chip design alongside Carver Mead. She was also a very vocal advocate for trans rights and remained active from 1999 until her death in 2024. This also led to IBM publicly apologizing for unjustly firing her, and she was presented with the IBM Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bayard Rustin
We all know about Martin Luther King Jr. and his iconic speech, “I have a dream,” delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. But the movement wouldn’t have been as impactful as it was without its principal organizer, Bayard Rustin. Bayard was a prominent leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, and gay rights. As a gay black man, he usually operated from the shadows, advising other civil rights leaders as he believed his sexuality would be used against him to attack his credibility. He didn’t engage in gay rights activism until the 1980s, when he was urged by his partner to do so. Since same-sex marriage was not legal during the time, he had to legalize his relationship with his partner by adopting him instead. Bayard gave a speech titled “The New Niggers Are Gay,” in which he said, “The new ‘niggers” are gays. It is in this sense that gay people are the new barometer for social change. The question of social change should be framed with the most vulnerable group in mind: gay people.”
Dr. Sally Ride
A woman of accolades that span multiple domains, from being a tennis prodigy, then majoring in physics to being the youngest American astronaut to have flown in space, at the age of 32. Sally Ride seldom gets discussed in conversations about astronauts. Sally was one of the 35 people selected by NASA in their astronaut group out of over 8000 applicants. She was part of the crew on 2 space missions. After stepping down from NASA, she continued pursuing a career in academia, even turning down offers from the then President to be NASA Administrator. She also founded a company named after her that created entertaining science programs aimed at motivating young kids to study science, with a particular focus on girls. After her death in 2012, it was revealed in a public obituary that she had been in a relationship with O’Shaughnessy, whom she met during NASA days. This made her the first LGBTQ astronaut.
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