Every LGBTQ+ History Month in February in the UK serves to celebrate queer culture and achievements. Many historical queer figures are underrepresented, often hidden due to societal repression. Recent historical research has uncovered the sexual orientations of prominent figures, allowing for a new appreciation of their contributions. Notable examples include Leonardo da Vinci, who lived openly as a gay man and faced societal scrutiny, Florence Nightingale, who had deep romantic feelings for women, and King James VI and I, known for his same-sex relationships.
While it's relatively easy to find LGBTQ+ icons and heroes to look up to nowadays, it can seem like there aren't many queer figures to connect to who lived before the 20th century.
Fortunately, historians have done the hard work of uncovering many prominent figures' sexualities, so you can have a whole new batch of people who you learned about at school.
A book by Walter Isaacson called Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography showed the extent to which da Vinci lived as an openly gay man in 15th century Florence.
Nightingale also loved three women passionately...she pretended to be her brother Henry in order to avoid the judgment of others.
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