BILLIE JEAN KING is an American former World I Number One tennis player. She c o was one of the first prominent n s : openly lesbian athletes, and W h o advocated for gender equality M throughout her career. She is a d e perhaps most remembered for L G her 1973 match against former B T men's champion Bobby Riggs, H i s t o which became known as the r "Battle of the Sexes". After y publicly daring King to play him, she defeated Riggs in the match - which was viewed by an audience of 90 million. King is still regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. VIRGINIA WOOLF was a British essayist, novelist I and literary critic - born in c o London in 1882 - who is today n s : regarded as one of the iconic W h o literary figures of the 20th M Century. She was a founding a d e member of the Bloomsbury L G Group: writers and intellectuals B T whose works influenced modern H i s t o attitudes towards feminism and r sexuality. Woolf openly y discussed the rights of women, also known for her open contribution to mental health visibility. In 1922, Woolf met and began an intimate affair with Vita Sackville-West. Their love letters have since been published. SALLY RIDE was an American astronaut and I engineer, who became the first c o American woman, the youngest n s : American astronaut, and the first W h o known lesbian or gay astronaut M to travel to space in 1983. Ride a d e joined NASA's space program in L G 1978. Prior to her first flight as a B T crew member for space shuttle H i s t o Challenger, she faced ridicule in r the media due to her gender - y and was asked belittling questions during press conferences. After her career in NASA, Ride co-wrote seven books encouraging children to study science. BAYARD RUSTIN was a gay civil rights activist and I leader across American social c o movements. He organised the n s : 1947 Freedom Ride and became W h o a strategist for the Civil Rights M Movement from 1955-1968. He a d e was the chief organiser of the L G 1963 March on Washington for B T Jobs and Freedom, where Martin H i s t o Luther King Jr delivered his "I r Have a Dream" speech. Rustin y was routinely attacked by political opponents due to his sexuality, and often avoided being a public spokesperson. In the 1980s, he overcame that and publicly advocated for gay and lesbian issues. LAVERNE COX is an American actor and LGBT I rights advocate, who rose to c o mainstream prominence in the n s : Netflix series "Orange is the New W h o Black" for which she became; M the first out transgender person a d e to be nominated for a Primetime L G Emmy Award for acting, to have B T a Madame Tussauds wax figure H i s t o and to appear on the cover of r TIME magazine. She has y consistently used her platform to increase awareness of trans issues, championing the rights of trans people of colour. She received an Honorary Doctorate from The New School for her advocacy work. PARIS LEES is a British journalist, media I personality, and transgender c o rights campaigner. Lees became n s : the first trans woman to present W h o on BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4, M using her position to advocate a d e for greater awareness of the L G prejudices faced by trans B T people. In 2018 she became the H i s t o first trans woman to appear in an r edition of British Vogue. She y later became a permanent columnist for the fashion magazine. Lees is currently involved in the All About Trans project, to change media perceptions of trans people. ALAN TURING was a British scientist and I mathematician. During WWII, c o Turing initiated major n s : advancements in code-breaking, W h o a key factor in enabling the Allies M to defeat the Nazis. Yet in 1952 a d e he was convicted of L G 'homosexual acts' and accepted B T chemical castration as an H i s t o alternative to prison. In 1954, he r died of cyanide poisoning, which y an inquest determined as suicide. He was posthumously pardoned in 2013, providing impetus for the "Alan Turing law" of 2018 which granted pardons to all men convicted of same- sex relations in Scotland. STEFAN HOGGAN is a Scottish retired para I swimmer and triathlete. Born c o with part of his right arm missing, n s : Hoggan was subject to bullying W h o at school but built resilience M through sport. Refusing to allow a d e his disability to interfere, he L G broke through as an upcoming B T athlete, representing the UK in a H i s t o series of major international r sporting events. Hoggan is a y member of Scottish Disability Sport's Young Persons' Sport Panel, and has continued to open doors for young athletes. He has spoken out against bullying and is an advocate for LGBT education in schools. OSCAR WILDE was an iconic 19th Century Irish I poet and playwright, known for c o his novel "The Picture of Dorian n s : Gray" and play "The Importance W h o of Being Earnest". In 1895, at the M height of his career, Wilde took a d e the Marquess of Queensberry - L G the father of his lover Lord B T Alfred Douglas - to court for H i s t o criminal libel. The trial revealed r evidence that forced Wilde to y drop his charges but resulted in his own arrest for "homosexual activity". He was convicted and sentenced to two years of hard labour. Upon his release, he moved to Paris, France: where he died, aged 46 and in exile. ALICIA GARZA is an American activist, writer, I self-identified queer woman and c o co-founder of the Black Lives n s : Matter movement. Garza is W h o credited with inspiring the M rallying call following a 2013 a d e open love-letter to black people L G which she published on B T Facebook, closing with "...our H i s t o lives matter - Black Lives r Matter". In 2015, Garza led the y Freedom Ride to Ferguson, Missouri - where she helped to establish chapters of BLM across the States, and has organised a series of protests against police brutality in the United States. AUDRE LORDE was a Caribbean-American I writer, civil rights activist and c o feminist. A prominent essayist n s : and poets; Lorde discussed W h o intersectionality, gender, M sexuality and race, whilst being a d e credited for her intense L G emotional expression. Lorde B T publicly came out as a lesbian H i s t o by reading 'Love Poem' in 1973. r Lorde politicised every aspect of y herself, including her battle with cancer, articulating her experiences in powerful prose. Poet Sonia Sanchez describes Lorde as "...a burst of light at a time when a lot of darkness was moving amongst us." MARK ASHTON was a British gay rights activist, I who co-founded Lesbians and c o Gays Support the Miners (LGSM). n s : The group operated during the W h o UK miners' strike of 1984-85, M raising funds for the striking a d e miners. The personal bonds L G forged between the miners and B T LGBT activists had a lasting H i s t o legacy. A resolution supporting r LGBT rights passed at the y Labour Party's 1985 conference, after block voting from the National Union of Mineworkers. Ashton died shortly after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1987. The group LGSM is the focus of the 2014 movie "Pride". MAUREEN COLQUHOUN was a British economist and I former Labour Party politician. c o Elected as the Member of n s : Parliament for Northampton W h o North in 1974, she was a vocal M advocate of women's causes. In a d e 1975, Colquhoun became L G Britain's first known gay or B T lesbian MP, and began a H i s t o relationship with Barbara Todd. r Afterwards, she was deselected y by her constituency party, who claimed her sexuality and feminism was the reason why. Whilst this was overturned by Labour's National Executive Committee, she lost her seat in the next election. SYLVIA RIVERA was an American transgender I rights activist and a founding c o member of both the US Gay n s : Liberation Front and S.T.A.R - a W h o group which provided housing M and support to homeless trans a d e youth. A regular attendee at the L G Stonewall Inn, she is said to have B T been present during the 1969 H i s t o riots. Throughout her life, Rivera r was homeless and spent time y living at the Christopher Street Docks in New York City. She always fought for those within the LGBT community whom she felt were being left behind by mainstream society and the wider rights movement. MEGAN RAPINOE is an American professional I football player, who is the co- c o captain of Reigns FC in the n s : National Women's Soccer W h o League.