On this day (7 August) in 1987, over 100 queer people gathered at Piccadilly Circus in London for a kiss-in. The protest was in defiance of a UK law that classified same-sex public displays of affection as misdemeanors. 📷 Getty

Beloved stage and screen actor Nathan Lane publicly came out as gay in 1999 following the killing of Matthew Shepard and has been a stalwart of LGBTQ+ media ever since. Speaking in an interview for PBS’s ‘Broadway: The American Musical’ in 2000, Lane explained the impact the LGBTQ+ community has had on the theatre scene. “There wouldn’t be a Broadway without the gays, it wouldn’t happen!” he said. “There’d be no costumes, there’d be no dancing, no singing. I wouldn’t be here!” He continued: “And there’s always been, I think, more freedom in the theatre to be yourself. In the theatre, nobody give a f*ck because we outnumber most of the other people… Most of the great love songs were written by gay men. It is a huge part of the theatre.” 📷 Getty, United International Pictures