The history of queer lovers

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day – which happens to fall in the middle of LGBT History Month – let’s take a look at some of the queer couples from the past.

Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas

The controversial couple that gave us the description of queer desire as “The love that dare not speak its name…” Wilde and Douglas had something of a toxic, interdependent relationship that ultimately led to Wilde’s spectacular downfall. They first met in 1891.

Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West

Although both married at the time that they met in the 1920s, these two powerhouses of early feminism proved an explosive combination.

Michelangelo and Tommaso de Cavalieri

Michelangelo’s passion for men was well-known, but it was a young nobleman called Tommaso de Cavalieri that really caught his attention. The pair met in 1523, and Michelangelo dedicated a lot of his poems to his beloved.

Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle

One of America’s greatest poets had numerous men in his life, but one of the stand-outs was Peter Doyle. Doyle was a streetcar driver, who first met Whitman in 1865. Whitman used to meet Doyle after he’d finished his shift – they’d meet in a hotel room for a bit of quality time together.

Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo

Playwright Williams first met actor Merlo in 1947. Their relationship lasted 14 years until Merlo died of lung cancer – his death left Williams devastated.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok

Eleanor Roosevelt was a surprising and unconventional First Lady of the United States. In 1928, Roosevelt met journalist Lorena Hickok and the two began a very public affair that lasted for thirty years.

Greta Garbo and Mercedes de Acosta

At the time that Garbo and Acosta met in 1931, Garbo was at the height of her fame. However, Acosta was no shrinking violet – a well-known poet, playwright, and screenwriter in her own right. Their relationship was tempestuous, and eventually Garbo cut Acosta from her life completely – refusing to even acknowledge Acosta on her deathbed.

W. Somerset Maugham and Gerald Haxton

Maugham met Haxton in 1914, when both men were serving in the Red Cross ambulance unit during the First World War in France. After the war, the couple spent most of their time travelling around Europe together, eventually making their home on the French Riviera.

W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman

Auden and Kallman met in 1939 at a club in Manhattan. They were together for the next 34 years until Auden’s death.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Vladimir Davydov

One of the slightly unusual things about the relationship between Tchaikovsky and Davydov, was that Davydov was Tchaikovsky’s nephew. Born in 1871, Davydov was 31 years younger than Tchaikovsky. Their relationship is documented by the love letters that Tchaikovsky sent to Davydov, and by the Symphonie Pathétique which Tchaikovsky dedicated to Davydov.

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