45 Trailblazers Who Changed The World, From Pride 1969 To Pride 2014

From: Queerty

Frank Kameny

In 1957, Frank Kameny was fired from his job with Army Map Services. In 1961, he argued against the firing in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court denied his petition, but it was a notable moment because it was the first sexual orientation civil rights claim. A decade later, in 1971, Kameny became the first openly gay man to run for Congress. In June 2009, he stood beside President Obama during the signing of the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act, which provides benefits for same-sex partners of federal government employees. He died in 2011, and his papers are collected in the Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution.