Leonardo Da Vinci was a famous Italian polymath, or a person of wide-ranging knowledge, during the Renaissance. Da Vinci was especially interested in invention, painting, drawing, sculpting, and architecture. He was also highly interested in studying and drawing male anatomy. A majority of biographers have concluded that Da Vinci most likely was a gay man, as he never showed interest in women and surrounded himself with young men. 

Da Vinci was accussed with sodomy (i.e., homosexual acts) in 1497, along with three other men. These charges were dropped due to the fact that Da Vinci had friends in high places, but he was threatened against committing homosexual acts in the future. Because of this, biographers believe that Da Vinci began to repress sexuality and focus on his work and art instead. Many aspects of his homosexuality expressed through his art, which would explain why so many pieces were left unfinished.

Leonardo Da Vinci never married or had interest in marrying a woman throughout his lifetime. The closest thing to a partner Da Vinci had was his apprentice, Salai, whom had lived with Leonardo for many years, even after his apprenticeship had ended. Da Vinci treated Salai with high regard and was very affectionate towards him.

Freddie Mercury, a British singer and songwriter, involved himself in relationships with both men and women but never publicly announced his sexuality. Mercury declared that he, “never wanted to have an in-depth discussion about [his] sexuality.” Many biographers have come to the conclusion that Mercury was a homosexual man who had relationships with the opposite sex because he was trying to survive and build his career in homophobic society. 

Mercury’s closeted queerness was forced upon him at a young age as he grew up in a community that considered same-sex attraction to be a mental illness, a tradegy, or a jole. His own parents belonged to a religion that viewed homosexuality as a type of “demon worship.” Because of the lack of acceptance from his own family, Mercury never discussed his sexuality with any of his family members, and even told his family that his male lover (whom he shared a home with) was his gardener. 

Throughout his musical career, Mercury openly had short term relationships with both men and women. Mercury also famously pushed gender boundaries. For example, Mercury decided to name his band Queen, which (at the time) was a derogatory term for a gay male. Mercury also explored gender through the way he dressed and the lyrics included in his music. Mercury claimed that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was his coming-out song, and that the lyrics “mama just killed a man” referred to him parting from his heterosexuality.

The AIDS epidemic greatly affected Mercury’s life as a member of the queer community, as his close friends and lovers were taken by the disease. Mercury himself died due to an AIDS related illness when he was forty-five years old. Mercury had not confirmed that he had contracted the disease until the day before his death.

Although Emily Dickinson never claimed her sexual identity, historians commonly agree that Dickinson most likely identified as bisexual or lesbian. Dickinson wrote many love letters, but a majority of them remained unaddressed, which would make sense if she was writing to a female lover given the time. Biographers remain unsure who these letters were written for and do not know whether or not the letters were ever sent. 

Many claim that Dickinson’s love affairs in her younger years involved women, especially regarding Susan “Sue” Gilbert, a writer whom happened to be Emily’s best friend and later sister-in-law. Dickinson loved Gilbert greatly, and became quite depressed when she married Dickinson’s brother. More on the relationship between the two can be found here. Dickinson was also rumored to have an affair with Emily Fowler, whom she frequently wrote to. Biographers do not know how physical these relationships were due to the fact that homophobia was extremely prevalent in the 1800s. 

Dickinson’s poems and writings were heavily edited before her male publisher would release them into the paper. The name’s of women included in her writings were removed, along with any physical happenings. Whole lines were removed from her writings, which means that any homosexual references may have been removed.

Due to the fact that individuals were not as in touch with their sexuality as they are now (especially due to widespread Christianity), Dickinson may have not even identified as bisexual or lesbian. Biographers have concluded that she may have not known her own preference or may have denied whatever preferences she had.

Elton John, a famous singer, songwriter, and pianist, has identified himself as both an activist and a member of the LGBTQ+ Community. John came out in 1976, but later came out as a gay man in 1988. He has also fought against AIDS and for queer rights since the late 1980s.

John was once engaged to a woman named Linda Woodrow, but eventually called off the engagement. In 1984, he officially married a recording engineer named Renate Blauel, which many pondered to be a coverup for his homosexuality. It wasn’t until after his divorce with Blauel in 1988 that John came out and said that he was “comfortable being gay.”

Throughout his work in activism, John worked hard to support and move towards the legalization of same-sex marriage in the UK. John also held a boycott against Russia due to Russia’s anti-gay legislation and spoke against these laws with Russian citizens. During the AIDS epidemic, John raised awareness and money to work towards curing the disease. He also founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which helped fund AIDS prevention and care for those diagnosed with AIDS.

In 1993, John began a relationship with David Furnish, a Canadian filmmaker. When the Civil Partnership Act was passed in 2005, the two immediately formed a civil partnership in the UK. When gay marriage became legal in 2014, John and Furnish married. Together, they had two sons and helped raise ten god-children.

Elton John gives advice to LGBTQ youth

Eleanor Roosevelt was an American diplomat, activist, and political figure that would eventually become a First Lady of the United States. Throughout history, Roosevelt’s sexuality has been a subject of debate, although evidence largely supports that she either was a closeted lesbian or bisexual woman.

According to many sources from both within and out of the White House claimed that Roosevelt had a long term affair with Lorena Hickok, a journalist and reporter from the Associated Press. The two women shared a series of intimate love letters over the course of their relationship, which began in 1932 and lasted roughly thirty years.

In 1933, Roosevelt wrote to Hickok, “Hick darling, all day I’ve thought of you & another birthday I will be with you, & yet tonite you sounded so far away & formal. Oh! I want to put my arms around you. I ache to hold you close. Your ring is a great comfort to me. I look at it and think she does love me, or I wouldn’t be wearing it.”

Although they wrote over 3,000 letters to one another, a majority of the messages written between Roosevelt and Hickok were physically destroyed by Roosevelt’s own family members to “keep their relationship a secret.” Hickok even burned some of the letters sent to her in order to avoid scandal.

Hickok and Roosevelt continuously wrote to each other until Roosevelt’s death in 1962. Explanations and insights to the letters are discussed in depth in the book Empty Without You: The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, along with preserved letters written between the two.

David Bowie, an English singer and songwriter, officially came out in 1972 during an interview with Melody Maker Magazine. “I’m gay,” Bowie stated. “And always have been, even when I was David Jones.” Publicly coming out at this point in time was an act of bravery, as a majority of the population still considered homosexuality a shameful and preferred secrecy on the matter.

Although David Bowie originally came out as gay, he later decided that he identified as a bisexual man in 1796. The public widely accepted Bowie as bisexual due to the fact that he had previously been married to Angie Bowie, a woman. Even though he was accepted, Bowie claimed that coming out as bisexual was “the biggest mistake I ever made,” but at other times, he stated “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” Throughout his lifetime, Bowie would continue to have relationships with both men and women.

Throughout his career, David Bowie was known as an icon for the queer community, as he was both bisexual and considered flamboyant. Bowie found new ways to break gender norms and often used style as a means for self expression. Unlike most public figures at the time, Bowie embraced both femininity and masculinity into his performances. Bowie also made an effort to embrace “drag-queen culture.”

“Sexuality and where it is going is an extraordinary question, for I don’t see it going anywhere. It is with me, and that’s it.”

-David Bowie

The White House website describes Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth president of the United States, but Lincoln had done so much more and even became a queer icon throughout his lifetime. Historians have speculated that Abraham identified as homosexual or bisexual, but remained closeted throughout his lifetime. Hiding one’s sexuality was highly common at the time, as “sodomy,” “unnatural acts,” or even accusations of homosexual behaviors and actions commonly lead to individuals losing their careers overall respect from entire communities; along with being sent to prison or facing large fines. Due to the fact that Lincoln worked in government, none of the possible punishments appealed to him in the slightest.

Lincoln was thought to have had short-term relationships with many men, including his own bodyguards and even the captain of the bodyguards, David V. Derickson. One particular man, Joshua Speed, lived alone with Lincoln for over four years and was the subject of many of Lincoln’s love letters. When Speed planned to move to Kentucky later on in life, Lincoln was heartbroken and broke off his engagement with Mary Todd in order to follow Speed to Kentucky. 

Eventually, Speed left without him, but Lincoln later followed. After Speed married a woman named Fanny Hemingway, Lincoln returned to Washington and eventually married Mary Todd after canceling the engagement once more. Throughout their marriage, Lincoln reportedly continued his relationships with Derickson when his wife would leave the home. Todd and Lincoln had a very rocky and troubled marriage, as they frequently unofficially split up. Eventually, the couple had four children in order to continue Lincoln’s bloodline. 

As Lincoln’s own stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, once said, “He was not very fond of girls, as he seemed to me.” Although only Abraham Lincoln will truly know how he identified within the sexuality spectrum, he has still become an icon for a variety of individuals, especially within the queer community. 

More information on the sexuality and life of Abraham Lincoln can be found in The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln by C.A. Tripp. Tripp, an influential gay author and sex researcher, spent over ten years studying and investigating Lincoln’s sexuality and his relationships with Speed and Derickson.