Many past and current LGBTQ+ scientists have faced discrimination, harassment, isolation, and abuse throughout their lives and their scientific careers. The scientists below achieved astonishing feats of scientific discovery, advocacy, progress, and more — many did so while working in hostile environments, being forced to deny their true selves under constant threat, and facing bigotry and discrimination.
Today, we work to create environments that nurture all people and declare our support for our LGBTQ+ colleagues, friends, family members, and communities. During Pride Month in particular, we celebrate LGBTQ+ scientists of the past and present, including and especially LGBTQ+ WIDites.
The scientists below are just a few of the many LGBTQ+ individuals who have made enormous contributions to science, society, and communities.
Ruth Bleier, MD
A neurophysiologist, activist, and feminist.A neurophysiologist, activist, and feminist.
One of the first feminist scholars to explore how gender biases have shaped biology. The University of Wisconsin annually awards the Ruth Bleier scholarships and its Department of History of Medicine has an endowed chair in her honor.
(1923 – 1988)
Ben Barres, PhD
The first openly transgender scientist in the National Academy of SciencesThe first openly transgender scientist in the National Academy of Sciences
Ben Barres was a pioneering neurobiologist at Stanford University. His work on a type of brain cells called glia revolutionized our understanding of the brain. In 2013, Barres became the first openly transgender member elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.
(1954 – 2017)
Jessica Ware, PhD
An evolutionary biologist and entomologistAn evolutionary biologist and entomologist
Jessica Ware is an associate curator at the American Museum of Natural History (New York), a principal investigator at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, and an associate professor for the Richard Gilder Graduate School.
Sara Josephine Baker, MD, DrPH
A force for child and maternal healthA force for child and maternal health
Sara Joesphine Baker, known for tracking down Typhoid Mary, was the first director of New York’s Bureau of Child Hygiene and an instrumental force in child and maternal health in the United States. A lesbian and a feminist, Baker was also a suffragist and a member of the Heterodoxy Club, a radical discussion group made up of more than 100 women, where she was known as “Dr Joe.”(1873-1945)
Lauren Esposito, PhD
Arachnologist and advocateArachnologist and advocate
Lauren Esposito is the Assistant Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences. She is the co-founder of the network 500 Queer Scientists, a visibility movement and professional network that boosts the recognition and awareness of LGBTQ+ people working in STEM fields.
Alan Turing, PhD
The father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligenceThe father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence
Alan Turing was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist who played a crucial role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements. He was persecuted by his own government and chemically castrated, which led to his death at just 42.
(1912-1954)
Sally Ride, PhD
The first American woman in spaceThe first American woman in space
Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space when she flew on the space shuttle Challenger on June 18, 1983. She made two shuttle flights, and later became a champion for science education and a role model for generations. Ride is also the first acknowledged gay astronaut.
(1951-2012)
Rochelle Diamond
A research biologist and queer activistA research biologist and queer activist
Rochelle Diamond is a research biologist, queer activist, and chair of the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals. She works as an applications specialist and lab manager at California Institute of Technology’s facility for flow cytometry and cell sorting.
Bruce Voeller, PhD
A biologist, AIDS researcher, and gay rights activistA biologist, AIDS researcher, and gay rights activist
Bruce Voeller was a biologist, AIDS researcher, and gay rights activist. He coined the term acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and was co-founder of the National Gay Task Force (1977), now renamed National LGBTQ Task Force. He was one of the inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor.
(1934 – 1994)
Sources: Washington University in St. Louis Biology Inclusion Committee, Orlando Science Center, 500 Queer Scientists, American Institute of Physics
