And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic is a 1987 book by San Francisco Chronicle journalist Randy Shilts. The book chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with a special emphasis on government indifference and political infighting—specifically in the United States—to what was then perceived as a specifically gay disease. Shilts's premise is that AIDS was allowed to happen: while the disease is caused by a biological agent, incompetence and apathy toward those initially affected allowed its spread to become much worse.

The book is an extensive work of investigative journalism, written in the form of an encompassing time line; the events that shaped the epidemic are presented as sequential matter-of-fact summaries. Shilts describes the impact and the politics involved in battling the disease on particular individuals in the gay, medical, and political communities. Shilts begins his discussion in 1977 with the first confirmed case of AIDS, that of Grethe Rask, a Danish doctor working in Africa. He ends with the announcement by actor Rock Hudson in 1985 that he was dying of AIDS, when international attention on the disease exploded. (Full article...)

Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He first came to prominence as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984) alongside Laurie, Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane, and in Blackadder (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011, he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind.

Fry's film acting roles include playing his idol Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde (1997), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor; Inspector Thompson in Robert Altman's murder mystery Gosford Park (2001); and Mr. Johnson in Whit Stillman's Love & Friendship (2016). He has also had roles in the films Chariots of Fire (1981), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). He portrays the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and its 2016 sequel, and the Master of Lake-town in the film series adaptation of The Hobbit. Between 2001 and 2017, he hosted the British Academy Film Awards 12 times. (Full article...)

“

Bless God and bless the gays!

”

• October 5: Supreme court of Mauritius rules the colonial era law criminalizing homosexuality unconstitutional
• August 5: DaBaby Levitating remix losing US radio audiences after the rapper's comments on HIV/AIDS
• May 19: Taiwan's legislature first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage
• February 1: Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight murders
• October 30: 22nd annual ILGA-Europe conference meets in Brussels: in pictures
• October 30: In pictures: thousands attend 16th annual Taiwan Pride

Street sign in Philadelphia's Gayborhood

• ...the first edition of Patience and Sarah, winner of the 1971 Stonewall Book Award, was self-published and all copies sold by the author after six publishers rejected it for not being marketable?
• ... that Jim Foster and Madeline D. Davis were the first openly LGBT people to address a major U.S. national political convention when they spoke to the 1972 Democratic National Convention?
• ...that openly-gay actor Robert La Tourneaux considered his role as the gay hustler in the 1970 film The Boys in the Band to be the "kiss of death" for his career?
• ... that Norman Lear's 1977 soap opera spoof All That Glitters featured Linda Gray as the first recurring transgender character on American television?

• 1 – Matthew Shepard (1976–1998), American student
• 1 – Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), Japanese daimyō and Buddhist monk
• 2 – Gianni Versace (1946–1997), Italian fashion designer
• 2 – Jason Collins (1978–), American basketball player
• 4 – Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968), American crime writer
• 5 – Margaret Cho (1968–), American comedian, actress, and author
• 6 – Tom Hulce (1953–), American actor and theater producer
• 6 – Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974), American actress
• 6 – William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), Dutch monarch
• 7 – Willa Cather (1873–1947), American writer
• 7 – Hurd Hatfield (1917–1998), American actor
• 7 – Jane Castor (1960–), American politician and former police chief, Mayor of Tampa, Florida
• 8 – Brendan Burke (1988–2010), Canadian hockey player
• 8 – Norman Douglas (1868–1952), British writer
• 9 – Elvira Kurt (1961–), Canadian comedian
• 10 – Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), American poet
• 10 – Tommy Kirk (1941–), American actor and businessman
• 10 – Raven-Symoné (1985–), American actress and singer
• 10 – Mark Takano (1960–), American Democratic congressman (California)
• 11 – Jean Marais (1913–1998), French actor
• 12 – Brandon Teena (1972–1993), American trans man, subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry
• 13 – Anton Hysén (1990–), Swedish soccer player
• 14 – Jobriath (1946–1983), American rock musician and actor
• 14 – Amini Fonua (1989–), Tongan swimmer
• 15 – Nero (37-68), Roman emperor, 54-68 AD
• 16 – Noël Coward (1899–1973), English playwright, composer, actor, and singer
• 16 – Kanako Otsuji (1974–), Japanese LGBT rights activist, and politician
• 17 – Deborah Sampson (1760–1827), American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War disguised as a man
• 17 – Paul Cadmus (1904–1999), American painter
• 17 – Jacqueline Wilson (1945–), English children's literature novelist
• 17 – Sarah Paulson (1975–), American actress
• 18 – Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626–1689), Swedish monarch
• 18 – Brian Orser (1961–), Canadian figure skater and coach, 1987 World Champion
• 19 – Jean Genet (1910–1986), French novelist, playwright, and political activist
• 20 – Elsie de Wolfe (1865–1950), American actress, interior decorator, and author
• 20 – Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942), British royalty
• 21 – Michael Tilson Thomas (1944–), American conductor, pianist, and composer
• 22 – Marc Allégret (1900–1973), French screenwriter and film director
• 24 - Louis Tomlinson (1991-), One Direction, British Singer/Songwriter
• 24 – Galba (3 BC-69 AD), Roman emperor, first in the Year of Four Emperors
• 24 – Brenda Howard (1946–2005), American LGBT activist
• 25 – Albert Cashier (1843-1915), Irish-American trans Union Army soldier
• 25 – Quentin Crisp (1908–1999), English writer, raconteur, and gay icon
• 25 – Ismail Merchant (1936–2005), Indian-born film producer and director
• 26 – David Sedaris (1956–), American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor
• 27 – Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992), German actress and singer
• 27 – Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), German politician and former Vice Chancellor of Germany
• 28 – Lili Elbe (1882-1931), Danish artist, subject of The Danish Girl novel/film
• 29 – Elsa Gidlow (1898–1986), Canadian-American poet, writer of first openly lesbian love poetry published in North America
• 29 – Billy Tipton (1914-1989), American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker
• 29 – Katherine Moennig (1977–), American actress
• 29 – Lilly Wachowski (1967–), American film director, screenwriter & producer
• 30 – Titus (31-81), Roman emperor, 79-81 AD.
• 30 – Paul Bowles (1910–1999), American expatriate composer, author, and translator
• 31 – Orry-Kelly (1897–1964), Australian costume designer
• 31 – Jennifer Higdon (1962–), American composer
• 31 – Diana Sacayán (1975–2015), Argentinian transgender activist

• Timeline of LGBT history
• List of LGBT events
• List of LGBT rights activists
• List of years in LGBT rights
• List of LGBT bookstores
• List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people
• Lists of bisexual people
• List of LGBT African Americans
• List of LGBT writers
• List of LGBT artists
• List of pansexual people
• List of drag queens