Frank Kameny
American gay rights activist (1925–2011)
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Key Takeaways
- Franklin Edward Kameny (May 21, 1925 – October 11, 2011) was an American gay rights activist.
- During the Lavender scare, in 1957, Kameny was dismissed from his position as an astronomer in the U.
- , because of his homosexuality, leading him to begin "a Herculean struggle with the American establishment" that would "spearhead a new period of militancy in the homosexual rights movement of the early 1960s".
- Civil Service Commission.
- Life and career Early life Kameny was born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents in New York City on May 21, 1925.
Franklin Edward Kameny (May 21, 1925 – October 11, 2011) was an American gay rights activist. He has been referred to as "one of the most significant figures" in the American gay rights movement.
During the Lavender scare, in 1957, Kameny was dismissed from his position as an astronomer in the U.S. Army's Army Map Service in Washington, D.C., because of his homosexuality, leading him to begin "a Herculean struggle with the American establishment" that would "spearhead a new period of militancy in the homosexual rights movement of the early 1960s".
Kameny formally appealed his firing by the U.S. Civil Service Commission. Although unsuccessful, the proceeding was notable as the first known civil rights claim based on sexual orientation pursued in a U.S. court.
Life and career
Early life
Kameny was born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents in New York City on May 21, 1925. His father, Emil Kameny, was a Polish electrical engineer, and his mother, Rae Beck Kameny, was of Austro-Hungarian descent and worked as a high-ranking secretary. Franklin and his younger sister Edna spent their childhood in Richmond Hill, a neighborhood in southeastern Queens. From the age of four, he knew that he wanted to become a scientist, and by six, he narrowed down his interest to astronomy. When he was 12, he started attending Richmond Hill High School and graduated in 1941 at the age of 16. From there, Kameny went to Queens College, City University of New York, to learn physics, and at age 17 he told his parents that he was an atheist.
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