Herman Melville Born August 1st

Melville was born August 1st, 1819 in New York City. Melville was descened from a well known Boston family; his grandfather having take part in the Boston Tea Party. His father's early death when Melville was 12 led him to the desire to independently support himself. A brother helped him obtain a job as a "boy" (green hand) on ship bound for Liverpool. This experience would inspire his first novel, Redburn: His First Voyage. His most famous novel, Moby Dick - or The Whale, was still to come.

"A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things."

"A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities."









Learn more at The Life and Works of Herman Melville. Rictor Norton discusses themes of homosexuality in Melville's works.

Thoreau Bor July 12th

Henry David Thoreau was born July 12th, 1817 in Concord, MA. The author of Walden proposed to one woman and was proposed to by another, of which nothing came. Perhaps Thoreau was more interested in Tom Fowler and Alek Therien.

Read more at GLBTQ and The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau.

Lord Kitchener Born June 24th

Horatio Herbert Kitchener was born June 24th, 1850 in Bally Longford, County Kerry, Ireland. Yes, he may have been engaged to Hermione Baker, who died young, and may have no good luck in courting Lord Londonderry's daughter, Helen Mary Theresa. Lord Kitchener had a constant male companion in Captain Oswald Fitzgerald and gathered around him a group of young, unmarried officers unofficially named Kitchener's band of boys. Great Britain as an empire owes a huge debt to Kitchener.

Julian Eltinge Born May 14th

William Dalton was born may 14th. 1883 in Newtonville, MA. Dalton would later go on to change his name to Julian Eltinge and become the greatest female impersonator of his day, if not within the last 150 years. A troop ship was named in his honor during the Korean War. There is much ambiguity about Eltinge's sexual orientation, thanks to the great efforts made by Eltinge himself to construct a macho male persona when not performing.

Read Kevin Landis' article in the Gay & Lesbian Review and visit the Julian Eltinge Project.

James Buchanan Born April 23rd

James Buchanan Jr was born April 23rd, 1791 in Cove Gao near Mercersburg, PA. Buchanan's political career began shortly after his law studies and admission to the bar in 1812. He was first elected to the  Pennsylvania House of Representatives, then went on to serve five terms in the Congress and Secretary of State before being elected in 1856 as the fifteenth President. Buchanan is the only bachelor President in United States history. Buchanan lived for a number of years with his closest friend, William Rufus De Vane King, a senator from Alabama. Contemporary politicians and press often to the men as Siamese twins, which apparently was slang for homosexual, or as "Buchanan and his wife and called King Miss Nancy or Aunt Fancy. Both men requested their nieces to burn private letters after their deaths, which the nieces dutifully complied, thereby destroying any concrete proof of a romantic and sexual relationship between the men.

Read more at Bilerico Project and Wikipedia.

William Rufus De Vane King Born April 6th

William was born April 6th, 1786 in Sampson County, North Carolina. According to custom at the time, his mother Magaret's maiden name De Vane was added to William's birth name. After serving in several government positions in North Carolina, King became a diplomatic secretary in Italy and Russia. King returned to America and purchased land in Alabama and established a plantation which he called Chestnut Hill. King and his family were one of the largest slave holders at the time.

King and future President James Buchanan shared a house in Washington DC for 15 years. The relationship raised suspicion. Andrew Jackson called King "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy." Contemporary press wrote speculative articles about the men. There is no concrete proof of King's and Buchanan's relationship being romantic since nieces of King and Buchanan destroyed much of the letters the men wrote.

King was elected as Vice President, running with Franklin Pierce in 1852. He died from tuberculosis within weeks of taking the oath of office.

Read more at Plainsmanpolitico, Wikipedia, and Veeps.

Hans Christian Andersen Born April 2nd

Hans Christian Andersen was born as an only child on April 2nd 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His father was a poor shoemaker and his mother a laundry woman. Andersen was forced to support himself starting at age 14 so he moved to Copenhagen and found employment at the Royal Danish Theater thanks to his soprano talent. A fortuitous encounter with Jonas Collin led to Andersen attending grammar school with expenses paid. The first of his Fairy Tales was printed in 1835.

Read more about Andersen here, here, and find writings here.