Milk, Harvey, 1930-1978

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person

Name Entries *

Milk, Harvey, 1930-1978

Computed Name Heading

Name Components

Surname :

Milk

Forename :

Harvey

Date :

1930-1978

eng

Latn

authorizedForm

rda

ミルク, ハーヴェイ, 1930-1978

Computed Name Heading

Name Components

Surname :

ミルク

Forename :

ハーヴェイ

Date :

1930-1978

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Jpan

alternativeForm

rda

Milk, Harvey Bernard, 1930-1978

Computed Name Heading

Name Components

Surname :

Milk

Forename :

Harvey Bernard

Date :

1930-1978

eng

Latn

alternativeForm

rda

Genders

Male

Exist Dates

Exist Dates - Date Range

1930-05-22

May 22, 1930

Birth

1978-11-27

November 27, 1978

Death

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Biographical History

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 Board of Supervisors. Although he was the most pro-LGBT politician in the United States at the time, politics and activism were not his early interests; he was neither open about his sexuality nor civically active until he was 40, after his experiences in the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

In 1972, Milk moved from New York City to the Castro District of San Francisco amid a migration of gay and bisexual men. He took advantage of the growing political and economic power of the neighborhood to promote his interests and unsuccessfully ran three times for political office. Milk's theatrical campaigns earned him increasing popularity, and in 1977 he won a seat as a city supervisor. His election was made possible by a key component of a shift in San Francisco politics.

Milk served almost eleven months in office, during which he sponsored a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The Supervisors passed the bill by a vote of 11–1, and it was signed into law by Mayor George Moscone. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a disgruntled city supervisor.

Despite his short career in politics, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr in the gay community. In 2002, Milk was called "the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States". Anne Kronenberg, his final campaign manager, wrote of him: "What set Harvey apart from you or me was that he was a visionary. He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it for real, for all of us." Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

eng

Latn

External Related CPF

https://viaf.org/viaf/55475548

https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q17141

https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n81107590

https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n81107590

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Languages Used

eng

Latn

Subjects

Gay liberation movement

Gay men

Gay men

Gay politicians

Gays

LGBT

Nineteen seventies

Politicians

San Francisco (Calif.)

Speeches, addresses, etc., American

Nationalities

Americans

Activities

Occupations

Political Activist

Political activists

Politicians

Politicians

Legal Statuses

Places

San Francisco

CA, US

AssociatedPlace

Death

Woodmere

NY, US

AssociatedPlace

Birth

United States

00, US

AssociatedPlace

Convention Declarations

<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>

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Mandates

Identity Constellation Identifier(s)

w6nh5g11

85451020