The History of LGBTQ+ people and events doesn't start with the Stonewall Riots but dates back over 500 years.
LGBTQ Scotland Timeline
1586:“Poem 49” of the Maitland Quarto manuscript is published. This lesbian love poem written in Scots is among the earliest instances of sapphic verse in any European language since Sappho herself. Although anonymous, the poem was most likely written by Marie Maitland, who edited and compiled the Quarto.
1603: James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England, and many biographers assume he was gay. The son of Mary Queen of Scots openly prefers and “loves” the company of male favourites.
1812: Dr James Barry graduates from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. A highly successful physician; following his death in 1865, it was discovered he was assigned females at birth.
1827: Scottish writer David Lyndsay, born Mary Diana Dods, takes the name Walter Sholto Douglas and has Mary Shelley arrange passports for himself and his wife Isabella under that name.
1869: Sophia Jex Blake begins studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh along with the rest of the Edinburgh Seven. Blake went on to become the first practising female doctor in Scotland and an educational campaigner before retiring with her female partner, Dr Margaret Todd, in 1899.
1885:The Criminal Law Amendment Act makes male same-sex sexual acts a criminal offence carrying a two-year prison sentence.
1921: The MP for Glasgow Springburn proposes to include female same-sex acts in law criminalizing gay acts. The House of Lords argue there isn’t enough research into the subject, and there’s not much public knowledge of the existence of female same-sex relationships.
1933: Ayrshire-born artists Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde meet on their first day at Glasgow School of Art. They become known as ‘The Two Roberts’ and remain lifelong partners.
1957: The UK government created a Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution and published the Wolfenden Report. This eventually led to the decriminalisation of homosexual acts.
1967: In England and Wales, same-sex relationships between men over 21 are no longer a criminal offence.
1969: The Scottish Minority Group (SMG) is founded in Glasgow in May. It’s a self-help organisation working for the rights of homosexual men and women.
1972: SMG launches Edinburgh Gay Switchboard. They also hold the International Gay Rights Congress at Edinburgh University Student’s Union with 400 people in attendance.
1975: Scotland’s first Gay Centre opens at 60 Broughton Street, Edinburgh.
1977: The Glasgow Gay Centre opens on Sauchiehall Street.
1981: In Scotland, male same-sex sexual acts are finally legalised as part of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980.
1982: Lavender Menace – Scotland’s first LGBT bookshop – opens on Forth Street.
1988: The government brings in Section 28, legislation that prevents teachers from talking about LGBT+ issues in schools.
1989: The Stonewall Youth Project is set up in Edinburgh. They go on to become LGBT Youth Scotland.
1990: Edwin Morgan – Scotland’s first Makar– comes out at the age of 70.
1995: The Lesbian Archive moves back to Scotland: from London to Glasgow Women’s Library.
1995: The first Scottish Pride March takes place in Edinburgh with around 3000 marchers.
1997: The Equality Network is set up in Scotland, ensuring LGBT voices are heard in policy-making.
2000: The Scottish Parliament repeals Section 28. Schools can now talk about LGBTI+ issues with pupils.
2004: Transgender people gain legal recognition with the Gender Recognition Act
2005: Same-sex civil partnerships are legalised.
2006: ‘Rainbow City’ explores the lives, struggles and cultural contributions of the LGBT community. It goes on display at the City Art Centre in 2006.
2009: Scottish same-sex couples gain equality in adoption and fostering.
2010: Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is banned.
2014: Same-sex marriage is legalised in Scotland.
2015 and 2016: Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe” for LGBTQ rights.
2018: The Scottish Government announces plans to start providing an "X" sex descriptor on identity documents and lowering the minimum age of transition to 16 equality".
2018: The Scottish Parliament passed the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) Act 2018, a law which issued a formal pardon to men, living and dead, convicted of having consensual sex with other men before it was decriminalised to men, living and dead, convicted of having consensual sex with other men before it was decriminalised
2021: Scotland becomes the first country in the world to embed LGBT+ inclusive education across the curriculum.
2022: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill passed within the Scottish Parliament by a vote of 86–39.?The UK government overruled the legislation under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998, the first time that this option had been used to overturn legislation passed by Scotland.
2022-2024: The Scottish Government develops plans and consultations for ending Conversion Therapy