1974
- Kathy Kozachenko — first openly gay or lesbian candidate to win public office in the United States (won a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, city council)
- Elaine Noble became the first openly gay or lesbian candidate ever elected to a state-level office in America when she was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She had come out as a lesbian during her campaign.
- Allan Spear - served almost thirty years in the Minnesota Senate, including nearly a decade as President of the Senate.
- Gay activists in Boston chose the purple rhinoceros as a symbol of the gay movement after conducting a media campaign in 1974. They selected this animal because, although it is sometimes misunderstood, it is docile and intelligent – but when a rhinoceros is angered, it fights ferociously. Lavender was used because it was a widely recognized gay pride color; the heart was added to represent love and the "common humanity of all people."
- In December 1974, the lambda was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Read more about this topic: List Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Or Transgender Firsts By Year, 1970s