During Pride Month, we honor the heroes of the LGBTQ+ movement. Trailblazing politician Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California and tragically lost his life to an assassin’s bullet in late 1978.

Swipe through to learn more about Harvey Milk.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, in 1977. After just 11 months as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he was assassinated by a disgruntled former supervisor.

Harvey Milk was born in 1930 in the New York City suburb of Woodmere, the younger of two brothers. After graduating from college with a math degree, Milk joined the Navy. Never one to hide his sexual orientation, he was forced to leave the service – the only other option was to face a court martial.

Milk bounced around from New York to Dallas to San Francisco and back to New York, working in various careers. He eventually moved back to San Francisco to open a camera store on Castro Street, an area famous for its concentration of and friendliness to gay men. During this time, he became more involved in politics and a leader of the Castro district's gay community.

After a few failed campaigns, Harvey Milk won a spot on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on November 8, 1977. Among his first accomplishments was to usher into law a civil rights bill that outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation. He was also behind an ordinance that forced San Francisco residents to pick up their dogs’ poop.

Harvey Milk quickly found an adversary in fellow supervisor Dan White, with whom he disagreed on many issues. Becoming increasingly disgruntled with Mayor George Moscone and others at City Hall, White eventually resigned from the board. On ​​November 27, 1978, he entered City Hall and assassinated both Moscone and Milk.

In the years and decades following his murder, Milk has attained legendary status for his role as a leader of the gay movement at its genesis. Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport is the world's first terminal named after a leader of the LGBTQ community. In 2009, Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to the gay rights movement.