Timeline of LGBT history in Manchester

1900s to 1950s

• 1940s: The Union pub, now The New Union, plays host to drag shows during World War II. They were popular with American troops stationed nearby.
• 1952: Alan Turing is prosecuted for being in a relationship with another man. He commits suicide in 1954.

1960s

• 1960s: Manchester’s gay scene is based in an area between Albert Square and Deansgate with pubs such as the Rockingham and Rouge being popular although The Union continues to be frequented by the gay community.
• 1964: The North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee is founded by Labour councillor Allan Horsfall to campaign for the recommendations of The Wolfenden Report to be brought into law. The first meeting is held in Manchester. Three years later, the partial decriminalisation of sex between men over the age of 21 took place. The North West branch of the national Homosexual Law Reform Committee became the national Campaign for Homosexual Equality in 1969.

1970s

• 1973: The Manchester Gay Alliance is formed by the University's Lesbian & Gay Society, CHE, a lesbian group and transvestite transsexual group.
• 1975: The Manchester Gay Alliance opens the Manchester Gay Switchboard to provide support and information to callers. It originally operated in the basement of the University of Manchester. After receiving a council grant in 1978, the scheme found a new home on Bloom Street. By 1990, the switchboard teamed up with The Lesbian Link Helpline to form the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.

1980s

• 1984: Manchester City Council forms the Equal Opportunities Committee. The numerous equality posts created included a Gay Men’s Officer and a Lesbian Officer, first occupied by Paul Fairweather and Maggie Turner respectively. 
• 1986:
  • Manchester Pride is born following a £1,700 grant from the council to put on a two-week celebration, complete with a huge banner adorning Oxford Street. This would eventually lead to the first Manchester Pride event in 1990.
  • Europe’s first purpose-built Gay Centre built in Manchester when Manchester City Council approved funding of £118,000. The centre, on Sidney Street, is still serving the community today.
• 1988: A huge anti-Section 28 protest is held in Manchester in which over 20,000 take to the streets to let their disquiet be heard. As a result, the Council produced over 6000 leaflets that set out how they aimed to prevent LGBT staff and service users from receiving unequal treatment. 
• 1989: The Northwest Campaign for Lesbian & Gay Equality organises Manchester's "Celebration of Gay and Lesbian Diversity" Love Rights. It consisted of a music festival at the Free Trade Hall and a political march starting at All Saints Park culminating in a rally with stalls in Albert Square. The main focus of the gay rights movement at the time was opposing Section 28.^[1]

1990s

• 1990: Manto opens as the first bar in the area not to be hidden away. Instead the front of the bar featured windows, allowing passers-by to see in. The building was the first in the area to be clad with large plate glass windows.
• 1991: The Carnival of Fun Weekend takes place over the four-day August bank holiday.
• 1992: Nightclub Cruz 101 opens.
• 1994: Healthy Gay Manchester is formed.
• 1996: The first Poptastic club night takes place in Manchester.
• 1998: The Bolton 7 are convicted of gross indecency.
• 1999: Queer as Folk, a drama series based on Manchester’s gay scene, is broadcast on Channel 4. 

21st century