10 Historical Figures You Didn't Know Were Low-Key LGBTQ+ Icons

These powerhouses all made history in more ways than one.

1. George Washington Carver

Amaury Laporte / Via flic.kr

George Washington Carver was an incredible scientist and inventor with an affinity for peanuts, but did you know that he was actually a member of the LGBTQ+ community? While Carver is known to have dated at least one woman (Sarah L. Hunt), we also know that he spent his final years as a companion to fellow scientist Austin W. Curtis Jr. In fact, Carter left all his assets to Curtis, so it’s safe to say that they had a special relationship.

2. Frida Kahlo

wiredforlego / Via flic.kr

Frida Kahlo wasn’t just known for her artwork; she was a proud Chicano revered for her contributions to the feminist and LGBTQ+ movements. And for better or worse, her marriage to fellow painter Diego Rivera was also quite frequently the talk of the town. Throughout their tumultuous marriage, both Kahlo and Rivera had various affairs, with some of Frida Kahlo’s partners including Josephine Baker and Georgia O’Keeffe.

3. Hans Christian Andersen

jpellgen / Via flic.kr

Hans Christian Andersen is a Danish author most known for his fairy tales. Love “The Little Mermaid” or “Thumbelina?” Then you’re a fan of Andersen’s. Although he fell in love with at least one woman to whom he also proposed, Jenny Lind, Andersen also fell in love with numerous men. In a letter sent to Edvard Collin, Andersen wrote, “I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench ... my sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery.”

4. James Dean

Insomnia Cured Here / Via flic.kr

James Dean’s sexuality has been the subject of ample speculation over the years, with people wondering what exactly was going on in the heartthrob’s head and heart. And while former friends and co-stars have gone on the record with their opinions on his sexuality — with their thoughts ranging from Dean being gay to him being open-minded — we think it’s best to take his own words. “No, I’m not homosexual,” he said. “But I am also not going through life with one hand tied behind my back.”

5. Katharine Hepburn

Kristine / Via flic.kr

Katharine Hepburn was a trailblazer. On top of being an iconic actress, she was iconic in her choice to wear trousers at a time when women could be arrested for doing so. Fellow actor Spencer Tracy was known to be Hepburn’s partner, however sources have said that Tracy was bisexual, Hepburn was a lesbian, and that their relationship wasn’t a romantic one behind closed doors. Hepburn is said to have been lovers with both Nancy Hamilton and Frances Rich at one point, further confirmation that Katharine Hepburn was an independent woman who didn’t need a man.

6. Walt Whitman

Marcelo Noah / Via flic.kr

We all know Walt Whitman’s writing, but what few people know is the specifics of his sexuality. Scholars have determined that many of Whitman’s romantic poems were written about men, and there is reason to believe that he was at one point in a relationship with a bus conductor named Peter Doyle. We don’t have all the answers when it comes to how Whitman labeled his sexuality, but, hey, who needs labels anyway?

7. Virginia Woolf

Royal Opera House / Via flic.kr

Virginia Woolf was ahead of her time to say the least. She had progressive views on sexuality and was not monogamous with her husband, Leonard Woolf. Although her diary entries make it clear that she loved him very much, she also enjoyed a fair amount of extramarital fun. Woolf is believed to have been bisexual; one of her known hookups with another woman occurred between herself and fellow writer Vita Sackville-West.

8. Nina Simone

Shawn Hoke / Via flic.kr

Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter, and activist. Even if you don’t know her music, you likely enjoy artists who are open about how they’ve been inspired by her work. Simone had public relationships with men, including the Prime Minister of Barbados, but she is known to be bisexual and detailed her attraction to both men and women in her diary.

9. Oscar Wilde

Thierry Ehrmann / Via flic.kr

Oscar Wilde’s story is quite a sad one. This Irish author, poet, and playwright was married with kids, and he was reported to have enjoyed a happy marriage with his wife, Constance Lloyd, for quite some time. However, when a court case turned sour and Wilde was convicted for “gross indecency with men,” he lost parental rights, wasn’t able to be with his male lover any longer, and never returned to the UK again.

10. John Lennon

Loco Steve / Via flic.kr

John Lennon rounds out our list, proving why, while some of us benefit from labels, others are inhibited by him. It has long been rumored that John Lennon was bisexual, and his wife Yoko Ono has said that both her and Lennon believed that all people are bisexual — but that we’re conditioned not to act on it. It is speculated that Lennon had a fling with producer Brian Epstein and that he had a crush on bandmate Paul McCartney, but that speculation of course can’t be confirmed.