LGBTList RulesVote up the LGBTQ+ individuals who made the biggest mark on the world.
From writers to philosophers to activists, there are plenty of LGBTQ+ thinkers whose thoughts and ideas have shaped the world over the years. These individuals were hugely influential in terms of opening up minds and encouraging bolder critical thought. Who is the most important LGBT+ thinker out there? Vote below to help decide!
Some LGTB leaders in history were open and honest about their sexual orientation or gender identity, which helped change minds and make the public more open and accepting. Harvey Milk, for example, amplified public awareness of gay rights during his time in the San Francisco political scene. LGBT writers, like Virginia Woolf and James Baldwin, often tackled topical issues in their work and their contributions still impact how we think today. There are plenty of other influential LGBT people who work in an array of fields from science to philosophy to medicine to music. Vote up the most important LGBT thinkers of all time below and feel free to add anyone you think is missing.
1
285Alan Turing
Mathematician, LogicianAge: Dec. at 41 (1912-1954)
Birthplace: Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in... more2
243Oscar Wilde
Poet, JournalistAge: Dec. at 46 (1854-1900)
Birthplace: Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most... more- 3235
James Baldwin
Activist, PoetAge: Dec. at 63 (1924-1987)
Birthplace: Harlem, New York City, New York
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American novelist, playwright, and activist. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore intricacies of racial,... more - 4236
Virginia Woolf
Novelist, AuthorAge: Dec. at 59 (1882-1941)
Birthplace: Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and also a pioneer in the use of... more - 5228
Allen Ginsberg
Film Score Composer, PoetAge: Dec. at 70 (1926-1997)
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet, philosopher and writer. He is considered to be one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation during the 1950s and... more - 6175
Oliver Sacks
Neurologist, AuthorAge: 88
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and author. Born in Britain, and mostly educated there, he spent his career in the... more - 7175
Marcel Proust
Librarian, NovelistAge: Dec. at 51 (1871-1922)
Birthplace: Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; French: [maʁsɛl pʁust]; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922), known as Marcel Proust, was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his... more - 8155
Michelangelo
Sculptor, PainterAge: Dec. at 88 (1475-1564)
Birthplace: Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled... more - 9154
Michel Foucault
Sociologist, WriterAge: Dec. at 57 (1926-1984)
Birthplace: Poitiers, France
Paul-Michel Foucault (UK: FOO-koh, US: foo-KOH, French: [pɔl miʃɛl fuko]; 15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984), generally known as Michel Foucault, was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social... more - 10144
Truman Capote
Novelist, ScreenwriterAge: Dec. at 59 (1924-1984)
Birthplace: USA, New Orleans, Louisiana
Truman Garcia Capote (; born Truman Streckfus Persons, September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short... more - 11122
W. H. Auden
Poet, LibrettistAge: Dec. at 66 (1907-1973)
Birthplace: York, United Kingdom
Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was an English-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals,... more - 12144
Harvey Milk
Businessperson, PoliticianAge: Dec. at 48 (1930-1978)
Birthplace: Woodmere, New York, United States of America
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, where he was elected to the San Francisco... more - 13146
Walt Whitman
Poet, NurseAge: Dec. at 72 (1819-1892)
Birthplace: West Hills, New York
Walt Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both... more - 14125
Susan Sontag
Cultural critic, NovelistAge: Dec. at 71 (1933-2004)
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she... more - 15125
John Maynard Keynes
Politician, InvestorAge: Dec. at 62 (1883-1946)
Birthplace: Cambridge, United Kingdom
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( KAYNZ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was a British economist, trained mathematician, whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of... more - 16102
Adrienne Rich
Poet, EssayistAge: Dec. at 82 (1929-2012)
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
Adrienne Cecile Rich (; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th... more - 1771
Barney Frank
PoliticianAge: 81
Birthplace: Bayonne, New Jersey, USA
Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is an American former politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as... more - 1894
Gore Vidal
Politician, JournalistAge: Dec. at 86 (1925-2012)
Birthplace: West Point, New York, USA
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his patrician manner, epigrammatic wit, and polished... more - 19105
Sappho
Lyric poetAge: Dec. at 55 (624 BC-569 BC)
Birthplace: Lesbos, Greece
Sappho (; Aeolic Greek Ψάπφω Psáppho; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by a lyre. In... more - 2094
Audre Lorde
Activist, LibrarianAge: Dec. at 58 (1934-1992)
Birthplace: Harlem, New York City, New York
Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. As a poet, she is best known for... more - 2172
Maggie Nelson
Maggie Nelson is an American poet, art critic, lyric essayist and nonfiction author of books such as Women, the New York School, and Other True Abstractions, The Red Parts: A Memoir, The Art of... more - 2272
Roland Barthes
Writer, PhilosopherAge: Dec. at 64 (1915-1980)
Birthplace: Cherbourg-Octeville, France
Roland Gérard Barthes (; French: [ʁɔlɑ̃ baʁt]; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of... more - 23107
Tennessee Williams
Screenwriter, WriterAge: Dec. at 71 (1911-1983)
Birthplace: Columbus, Mississippi, United States of America
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he... more - 2452
Edward Albee
Screenwriter, AuthorAge: 93
Birthplace: USA, Virginia
Edward Franklin Albee III ( AWL-bee; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as The Zoo Story (1958), The Sandbox (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?... more - 2572
Elizabeth Bishop
Poet, WriterAge: Dec. at 68 (1911-1979)
Birthplace: Worcester, Massachusetts
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner... more
