Economist John Maynard Keyes died on this day in 1946, aged 62.
Keyes theories radically changed the field of macro-economics and the economic policies of governments around the world. So influential is his work it spawned the genre Keynesian economics.
Keyes was bisexual, and his early relationships were exclusively with men. While he was a student at Eton and Cambridge he had a series of romances which he documented in a secret diary.
Many of his friends were surprised when he began dating women in his 40s. In 1921 he began dating Russian ballerina Lydia Lopkova, but also had a male lover for the first few years of their romance. The couple wed in 1925.
During his life Keyes was a great supporter of the arts, particularly ballet and opera. He died in 1948 after suffering a series of heart attacks. His wife passed away in 1981.
In 1966 a gay rights group in New York staged a ‘sip-in’
The Mattachine Society were one of the earliest gay rights groups, formed in New York in 1950.
On this day in 1966 they staged a ‘sip-in’ at the Julius Bar in Greenwich Village. The protest was in response to a rule where the New York Liquor Authority prohibited serving gay patrons in bars on the basis that homosexuals are “disorderly.”
Society president Dick Leitsch and other members went to the bar proudly announced their homosexuality and were immediately refused service.
The Julius Bar was not their first choice for the protest. The first bar they had intended to stage their protest at was one that had a sign in it’s window that read “If you are gay, please go away.” The bar owner got wind of the protest action and closed the bar before the group could get there.
They then attempted to stage the protest at a second bar but the barman served them, later saying “How do I know they’re homosexual? They ain’t doing nothing homosexual.” Finally they were refused service at the Julius Bar.
Following the sip-in, the Mattachine Society sued the New York Liquor Authority. Although no laws were overturned, the New York City Commission on Human Rights declared that homosexuals had the right to be served.
Despite its fame for refusing to serve homosexuals it has become a popular LGBTIQA+ venue. The bar is still operating in New York’s Greenwich Village, it is remembered as being a favourite hangout of Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Rudolph Nureyev. A plaque has been installed to note what happened at the bar in 1966, and the bar is also heritage listed.
It’s been featured in several notable films including the original 1970 production of The Boys in the Band, 2014’s Love is Strange which starred Alfred Molina and John Lithgow, and the 2017 Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant film Can You Ever Forgive Me?
