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Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon (1955)

1955: Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon found the lesbian rights organization Daughers of Bilitis in San Francisco, the first in the nation.

Del Martin (1921-2009) and Phyllis Lyon. Del was born in San Francisco. They wed twice (2004, 2009) in San Francisco and were plaintiffs in the lawsuit that overturned the state ban on same-sex marriage. Del was the first open lesbian to serve on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women and was a leader of the campaign that successfully convinced the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its roster of mental illnesses. Image courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.