Harvey Milk

He realized during his adolescence that he was gay. He had been in relationships with many men including Craig Rodwell, Joe Campbell, and Scott Smith.

One of his detractors in politics was his colleague, Dan White who was also a Supervisor. He was bitterly opposed to Milk’s policies and activities and shot him dead on November 27, 1978.

Milk was a cultural icon and several books, plays, and films have been based on his life.

He was the son of Jewish parents William Milk and Minerva Karns. His family owned a departmental store.

He attended the Bay Shore High School and graduated in 1947. He played football and developed an interest in opera while there. He realized that he was homosexual but kept this a secret; no one at his school or college suspected his sexual orientation.

He enrolled at New York State College for Teachers in 1947 and graduated in 1951 with a major in mathematics. He was a friendly and extroverted student who was liked by all.

He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He was discharged from the Navy in 1955 at the rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

He took up a teaching job at George W. Hewlett High School. Dissatisfied with his career, he tried his hand at several other jobs, including stints as a stock analyst and a Wall Street investment banker.

He moved to San Francisco with his partner, Scott Smith, in 1972. San Francisco had the largest population of gays during that time. They opened a camera store called Castro Camera. Milk was a caring individual and became well-known within his neighborhood. He had a keen interest in solving people’s problems and thus decided to enter politics.

He ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1973 and lost due to lack of experience. He again declared his candidacy in 1974 and again lost—but by this he had become a more popular political force and had the public’s support.

Due to his popularity in the neighborhood, he was affectionately called the ‘Mayor of Castro Street’. In 1977 he finally won a seat on the San Francisco City-County Board and was inaugurated in January 1978 — becoming the first openly gay individual to be elected to office in the United States.

As a Supervisor he passed a gay rights ordinance and defeated the Briggs Initiative which would have banned members of the LGBT community from working in public schools. He was a gay icon and leader of the LGBT civil rights movement who set the precedent for several of the gay rights leaders today.