Fact of the day #12: June 25 1978, Rainbow flag (LGBT movement) used for the first time

The rainbow flag, commonly known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements and was used for the first time 39 years ago.

Gilbert Baker, an openly gay activist born in 1951, grew up in Kansas, and went on to serve in the US army for about two years in 1970. After an honourable discharge, Gilbert taught himself to sew. In 1974, Baker met Harvey Milk, an influential gay leader, who three years later challenged Baker to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community.

The original gay pride flag flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978. It has been suggested that Baker may have been inspired by Judy Garland's singing "Over the Rainbow" and the Stonewall riots that happened a few days after Garland's death.

Another suggestion for how the rainbow flag originated is that at college campuses during the 1960s, some people demonstrated for world peace by carrying a Flag of the Human Race with five horizontal stripes.

Gilbert Baker is said to have gotten the idea for the rainbow flag from this flag in borrowing it from the Hippie movement of that time. The flag originally comprised eight stripes with a specific meaning for each of the colours: