Feb 28 Sexual Offences Act 1967
Feb 28 Sexual Offences Act 1967. The decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK was a gradual and uneven process shaped by law, scandal, activism and social change. Male homosexual acts had been criminalised in England since the Buggery Act of 1533. The 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act widened the net through the offence of “gross […]
Feb 27 Dr Nina Vedeneyeva
Feb 27 Dr Nina Vedeneyeva (1882-1955) Born in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire), Nina Vedeneyeva was a preeminent crystallographer. Her accolades include the Stalin Prize, the Order of Lenin, and several other medals awarded by the Soviet Union. Vedeneyeva began her studies at the Liège Polytechnical School in Belgium but returned to […]
Feb 26 Christopher Strachey
Christopher Strachey (1916–1975) was one of the founding figures of modern computer science. A brilliant theorist and practical innovator, he played a central role in shaping programming language theory at a time when computing itself was still in its infancy. His 1967 lecture notes helped define the formal study of programming languages, influencing generations of […]
Feb 25 Dr Louise Pearce
Feb 25 Dr Louise Pearce (1885–1959) was a pioneering American pathologist whose research helped transform the treatment of infectious disease in the early twentieth century. After receiving her medical degree from Johns Hopkins, she was joined the Rockefeller Institute, where she built a distinguished career in experimental pathology. Her most important work focused on trypanosomiasis […]
Feb 24 Dr Martin Gouterman
Feb 24 Dr Martin Gouterman was a pioneering physical chemist whose work transformed our understanding of molecular spectroscopy and the electronic structure of porphyrins. Best known for the “Gouterman four-orbital model,” he provided a clear theoretical explanation for the intense absorption bands seen in porphyrin compounds – molecules that lie at the heart of vital […]
Feb 23 Rachel Carson MSc
Rachel Carson MSc was a pioneering marine biologist and writer whose work reshaped how the world understands the environment. Through her landmark book ‘Silent Spring’ (1962), she exposed the ecological and health dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use, especially DDT, revealing how chemicals accumulate in food chains and devastate wildlife. Carson combined rigorous science with accessible […]
Feb 22 Michael Grierson Jarrett
Feb 22 Michael Grierson Jarrett (often known as Mike Jarrett) was a distinguished British archaeologist whose scholarship significantly advanced the understanding of Roman Britain. Specialising in Roman military history, Jarrett conducted influential research on auxiliary units and the structure of the Roman army in Britain. His study of inscriptions and archaeological evidence helped clarify the […]
Feb 21 Barbara Burford
Barbara Burford (1944–2010) Black British writer, poet and activist whose work powerfully articulated the experiences of Black lesbians in Britain. Born in Jamaica and raised in the UK, she became a vital voice within Black feminist and LGB movements during the 1970s and 1980s. At a time when mainstream feminism often marginalised women of colour, […]
Feb 20 Peter Landin
Feb 20 Peter Landin (1930–2009) was one of the great pioneers of theoretical computer science and an early voice for gay liberation in Britain. In the 1960s he helped transform programming from an ad-hoc craft into a rigorous discipline grounded in mathematics. His work on the SECD machine provided one of the first abstract models […]
Feb 19 Dr Sally Ride
Dr Sally Ride BSc in physics, a BA in English literature, an MSc and a PhD in physics, specializing in X-ray interactions with the interstellar medium. So many firsts – as an astronaut, physicist, and educator whose achievements reshaped both space exploration and representation in STEM. In 1983, she became the first American woman in […]
Feb 18. Bruce Raymond Voeller
Bruce Raymond Voeller (1934-1994) was a biologist and researcher and a pioneering force in the modern LGB rights movement, combining political strategy, scientific advocacy and fearless visibility at a time when doing so carried enormous personal risk. A co-founder of the National Gay Task Force, Voeller helped professionalise post-Stonewall activism, bringing gay rights into the […]
Feb 17. Drs. Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson
Drs. Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson were pioneering British doctors whose partnership transformed both medicine and women’s role in public life. At a time when women faced formidable barriers in the medical profession, they not only built successful careers but also demonstrated women’s indispensable contribution during the First World War. Both were active in […]
February 16. Allan Hellman
Allan Hellman was a Swedish gay activist and political figure who has played a significant role in advancing LGB rights in Finland and across the Nordic region. Long before Stonewall, Hellman was “Sweden’s bravest man” and is considered the first man in Sweden to openly identify as gay in 1951. Openly gay and long active […]
Feb 15. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo is one of the world’s leading infectious diseases specialists, whose career has transformed the prevention and treatment of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. A clinician-scientist known for rigorous, patient-centred research, she has led major studies on bacterial vaginosis, microbicides, HIV prevention strategies, and the sexual health of women — areas long underfunded […]
Feb 14 Kei Koizumi
Kei Koizumi has been a key figure in advancing science and technology policy in the United States. Serving in senior roles at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Biden administration, he has helped strengthen the role of evidence in government decision-making and championed sustained federal investment in research and development. […]
Feb 13 Dr Kathleen Stock OBE
Feb 13 Dr Kathleen Stock OBE. Philosopher. A distinguished British academic whose work has had significant impact both within philosophy and in wider public debate. A specialist in aesthetics and the philosophy of fiction, she has published influential research exploring imagination, representation, and belief, contributing to contemporary analytic philosophy. During her tenure at the University […]
Feb 12 Dr Jay Keasling
Dr Jay Keasling is a pioneering figure in synthetic biology whose work has reshaped modern biotechnology and global health. A professor at the University of California, Berkeley, he also founded the Berkeley Center for Synthetic Biology and has played a leading role in the Joint BioEnergy Institute. Keasling is best known for engineering microbes to […]
Feb 11. Dr Sophie Middleton
Dr Sophie Middleton is an accomplished experimental particle physicist whose work contributes to some of the most ambitious questions in modern science. She has been involved in cutting-edge research in muon physics, including work connected to the Mu2e experiment, which seeks to explore rare particle processes that could reveal physics beyond the Standard Model. Her […]
Feb 10 Gregg Gonsalves
Gregg Gonsalves is a leading figure in global health whose career bridges hard science and unapologetic activism. Trained as an epidemiologist and now a professor at Yale, he first came to prominence during the HIV/AIDS crisis as a member of ACT UP, where he helped force governments, regulators, and pharmaceutical companies to respond to the […]
February 9 Sofya Kovalevskaya
Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891), born Sofya Vasilyevna Korvin-Krukovskaya in Moscow, was a trailblazing Russian mathematician, novelist, and women’s rights advocate. From an aristocratic family—her father a general and her mother linked to scientists—she showed early mathematical talent but faced restrictions on women’s education in tsarist Russia. In 1868, she entered a fictitious marriage with palaeontologist Vladimir […]
Feb 8 Dr. John Armstrong
Dr. John Armstrong is a Senior Lecturer in Financial Mathematics at King’s College London, where he has built a strong reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and academic leadership. His work sits at the intersection of rigorous mathematical theory and real-world financial application, helping students develop both deep technical understanding and practical analytical skills. Widely […]
February 7. Lynda Birke
Lynda Birke is a distinguished biologist whose achievements lie in transforming how biology understands animals, bodies, and the production of scientific knowledge itself. Trained as a biologist, Birke became a leading figure in feminist science studies, challenging the idea that science is purely objective and showing how social values, power, and sex assumptions shape biological […]
February 6. Svante Pääbo
February 6. Svante Pääbo is one of the most influential scientists of the modern era, transforming our understanding of human origins and evolution. As a pioneering geneticist, he founded the field of ancient DNA research, overcoming immense technical challenges to extract and analyse genetic material from long-extinct species. His most celebrated achievement was sequencing the […]
February 5 Carolyn Bertozzi
Carolyn Bertozzi. A pioneering chemical biologist, she transformed how we study living systems through bioorthogonal chemistry — reactions that can happen inside the body without disrupting life itself. That breakthrough reshaped biomedical research, from cancer to immunology, and opened doors to new therapies that once felt impossible. Beyond the science, Bertozzi matters because of who […]
February 4 For Women Scotland
Day 4. For Women Scotland is a grassroots advocacy organisation formed to campaign for women’s sex-based rights within law and public policy. Established in response to proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act in Scotland, the group argues that biological sex is a material reality that must remain clearly defined in legislation, particularly where rights, […]
February 3 Jack Andraka
Jack Andraka is often cited as a symbol of youthful innovation and the power of curiosity to challenge established systems. As a teenager, Andraka gained international attention for his work on a low-cost, paper-based biosensor designed to detect biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer. His project, which aimed to make early detection more accessible and affordable, […]
February 2 Alex Scott
Arsenal icon. 140 caps for England. Trailblazing presenter and a proud lesbian in football. Wore rainbow armband in Qatar and now inspiring countless young players. Partner of @Jessglynne. #LGBHistoryMonth www.labourlgb.org
For Day 1 of LGB History Month, February 2026, Alan Turing.
Alan Turing was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, whose work laid the foundations for modern computing and artificial intelligence. Born in 1912 in London, Turing showed extraordinary mathematical ability from a young age. His 1936 paper introduced the concept of the “Turing Machine,” a theoretical model that remains central to […]