Harvey Milk Assassinated (1978)

Mon Nov 27, 1978

Image

Harvey Bernard Milk (1930 - 1978) was the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and was assassinated on this day in 1978. Although he achieved national renown as one of the most pro-LGBT politicians in the United States at the time, politics was something Milk came to later in life, after his experiences with the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

In 1972, Milk moved from New York City to the Castro District of San Francisco and took advantage of the growing political and economic power of the neighborhood to promote his activism. Milk unsuccessfully ran for office three times, but finally won a seat as a city supervisor in 1977.

Milk was assassinated on this day in 1978, after only eleven months in office. He was killed by Dan White, a disgruntled former city supervisor.

During Milk’s short time in office, he sponsored a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. After his death, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr for the gay community.

In 2021, the U.S. Navy launched a ship named after Harvey Milk, who had been discharged from the Navy during the Korean War after being questioned about his sexual orientation.