Famous and Influential LGBTQ+ People Quiz

In honour of Pride Month, test yourself with this quiz on famous, influential or iconic figures from LGBTQ+ history.


NB: many of these individuals may not have openly identified as LGBTQ+, nor would they have been labelled as such by their peers, due to it being a modern term. However, despite it being somewhat anachronistic, many are associated with LGBTQ+ by modern scholars. 

Want to have some fun and test yourself? Start our interactive quiz


Questions: 26

Time Limit: 13:00

Your Best Score: First Attempt

Score:

0 / 26

Time left:

Want to test yourself?

Questions

  1. Which woman, who was only revealed to be homosexual in her obituary, was the first American female astronaut?
  2. Which American composer, conductor and social activist, famous for writing the score for the Musical “West Side Story” came out as gay after a failed marriage with his wife Felicia Montealegre?
  3. Who was the first professional football player to publicly come out as gay?
  4. What is the name of the female Czech tennis player who has won 18 Grand Slam Singles titles?
  5. Which Ancient Macedonian Leader, famous for leading the Greeks to conquer Egypt, and Persia, is believed to have had multiple homosexual relationships?
  6. Which reality television star and former Olympic champion, came out as trans in the 2010s before then going on to win Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” award?
  7. Which male Italian renaissance polymath, responsible for the fresco "The Last Supper", is believed to have had numerous relationships with other young men?
  8. What was the surname of the transgender siblings responsible for directing the Matrix films?
  9. Which Italian renaissance sculpturer, famous for works such as “David”, wrote intimate poems about the Roman patrician Tommaso dei Cavalieri?
  10. Who was the iconic lead singer of the band Queen, who tragically lost his life to HIV/AIDS-related complications in 1991?
  11. Which female Ancient Greek poet from Lesbos (the origin of the term "lesbian"), famous for writing “Ode to Aphrodite”, was believed to be homosexual?
  12. Who was the first transgener woman to have sex reassignment surgery in the United States?
  13. Which English actor, comedian and writer famous for his roles in "Jeeves and Wooster" and "Blackadder", in addition to hosting QI, is openly gay and a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and for the mental health charity Mind?
  14. Which famous English mathematician and cryptographer, responsible for cracking the enigma code and is referred to as the father of modern computing, was chemically castrated under then-UK law for his sexual orientation?
  15. “O Captain My Captain” was a poem written by which presumed bisexual or homosexual 19th-century American poet?
  16. Which American Politician, later assassinated, was the first openly gay man to be elected to office in California in 1977? He was also the subject of a 2008 biopic starring Sean Penn.
  17. “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a classic American play written by which man?
  18. Which American writer and activist, famous for works such as “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, was a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and for the civil rights movement?
  19. Best known for his role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which knighted actor was a co-founder of the English LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall?
  20. Which MP for Islington South and Finsbury was the UK’s first openly gay politician, having come out in 1984?
  21. What is the stage name of the famous English singer and pianist born Reginald Dwight, famous for hits such as “Your Song”? He is an avid campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and against HIV/AIDS.
  22. Known for his epigrams, plays and poems, which Irish playwright was sentenced in the 1890s to two years of manual labour for gross indecency (for consensual homosexual acts)?
  23. What is the name of the current CEO of Apple, who is openly gay and a prominent supporter of LGBTQ+ rights?
  24. Malcolm Michaels Jr, born in 1945, a prominent American gay liberation activist, drag-queen, and prominent figure in the Stonewall riots, goes by what other name?
  25. Famous for her post-colonial surrealist Mexican folk art, which bisexual artist also had an association with the Mexican Communist Party?
  26. Which famous bisexual English female essayist and novelist, writer of Mrs Daloway and To The Lighthouse, pioneered women’s rights?

Questions & Answers

Interactive Quiz

  1. Which woman, who was only revealed to be homosexual in her obituary, was the first American female astronaut?
    Sally Ride
  2. Which American composer, conductor and social activist, famous for writing the score for the Musical “West Side Story” came out as gay after a failed marriage with his wife Felicia Montealegre?
    Leonard Bernstein
  3. Who was the first professional football player to publicly come out as gay?
    Justin Fashanu
  4. What is the name of the female Czech tennis player who has won 18 Grand Slam Singles titles?
    Martina Navratilova
  5. Which Ancient Macedonian Leader, famous for leading the Greeks to conquer Egypt, and Persia, is believed to have had multiple homosexual relationships?
    Alexander the Great
  6. Which reality television star and former Olympic champion, came out as trans in the 2010s before then going on to win Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” award?
    Caitlyn Jenner
  7. Which male Italian renaissance polymath, responsible for the fresco "The Last Supper", is believed to have had numerous relationships with other young men?
    Leonardo da Vinci
  8. What was the surname of the transgender siblings responsible for directing the Matrix films?
    Wachowski
  9. Which Italian renaissance sculpturer, famous for works such as “David”, wrote intimate poems about the Roman patrician Tommaso dei Cavalieri?
    Michelangelo
  10. Who was the iconic lead singer of the band Queen, who tragically lost his life to HIV/AIDS-related complications in 1991?
    Freddie Mercury
  11. Which female Ancient Greek poet from Lesbos (the origin of the term "lesbian"), famous for writing “Ode to Aphrodite”, was believed to be homosexual?
    Sappho
  12. Who was the first transgener woman to have sex reassignment surgery in the United States?
    Christine Jorgensen
  13. Which English actor, comedian and writer famous for his roles in "Jeeves and Wooster" and "Blackadder", in addition to hosting QI, is openly gay and a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and for the mental health charity Mind?
    fry
  14. Which famous English mathematician and cryptographer, responsible for cracking the enigma code and is referred to as the father of modern computing, was chemically castrated under then-UK law for his sexual orientation?
    Alan Turing
  15. “O Captain My Captain” was a poem written by which presumed bisexual or homosexual 19th-century American poet?
    Walt Whitman
  16. Which American Politician, later assassinated, was the first openly gay man to be elected to office in California in 1977? He was also the subject of a 2008 biopic starring Sean Penn.
    Harvey Milk
  17. “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a classic American play written by which man?
    Tennessee Williams
  18. Which American writer and activist, famous for works such as “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, was a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and for the civil rights movement?
    James Baldwin
  19. Best known for his role as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which knighted actor was a co-founder of the English LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall?
    Sir Ian McKellen
  20. Which MP for Islington South and Finsbury was the UK’s first openly gay politician, having come out in 1984?
    Chris Smith
  21. What is the stage name of the famous English singer and pianist born Reginald Dwight, famous for hits such as “Your Song”? He is an avid campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and against HIV/AIDS.
    Elton John
  22. Known for his epigrams, plays and poems, which Irish playwright was sentenced in the 1890s to two years of manual labour for gross indecency (for consensual homosexual acts)?
    Oscar Wilde
  23. What is the name of the current CEO of Apple, who is openly gay and a prominent supporter of LGBTQ+ rights?
    Tim Cook
  24. Malcolm Michaels Jr, born in 1945, a prominent American gay liberation activist, drag-queen, and prominent figure in the Stonewall riots, goes by what other name?
    Marsha P. Johnson
  25. Famous for her post-colonial surrealist Mexican folk art, which bisexual artist also had an association with the Mexican Communist Party?
    Frida Kahlo
  26. Which famous bisexual English female essayist and novelist, writer of Mrs Daloway and To The Lighthouse, pioneered women’s rights?
    Virginia Woolf
See a mistake in the quiz?