By: HISTORY.com Editors

2004

First legal same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts

Published: July 21, 2010Last Updated: May 28, 2025

Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses. The day was characterized by much celebration and only a few of the expected protests materialized.

On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, ruling that the state could not deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry. The decision cited the state constitution’s ban on the creation of second-class citizens. The court then gave the state 180 days in which to change the law. Efforts by some legislators to introduce an amendment to the state’s constitution banning same-sex marriage, but recognizing civil unions, were defeated.

Same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states on June 26, 2015, after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

The Supreme Court Rulings That Have Shaped Gay Rights in America

The Court ruled in favor of gay rights as early as 1958. But its decisions haven't always sided with the LGBT community.

By: Joseph Bennington-Castro

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 17th

1756

England declares war on France, officially entering the Seven Year’s War

England declares war on France, officially launching them into the Seven Years’ War, a global conflict played out in North America as the French and Indian War. However, fighting and skirmishes between England and France had been going on in North America for several years. In the early 1750s, French expansion into the Ohio River […]

1:46m read

1873

Writer Dorothy Richardson, pioneer of stream of consciousness, is born

Influential English writer Dorothy Richardson, whose stream-of-consciousness style will influence James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, is born on May 17, 1873. Richardson, though seldom read today, was widely read and discussed in her own time. The daughter of a grocer who went bankrupt when she was 17, Richardson was well-educated and highly independent. After her […]

1:52m read

1885

Apache leader Geronimo flees Arizona reservation, setting off panic

For the second time in two years, the Apache leader Geronimo breaks out of an Arizona reservation, sparking panic among Arizona settlers. A famous medicine man, Geronimo achieved national fame by being the last American Indian to surrender formally to the United States. For nearly 30 years, Geronimo and his followers resisted the attempts of Americans […]

2:46m read

1943

The Memphis Belle flies its 25th bombing mission

On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group of American bombers based in Britain, becomes one of the first B-17 crews to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the United States. The Memphis Belle performed its 25th and last mission, in a bombing raid against Lorient, a German […]

1:12m read

1954

Brown v. Board of Ed is decided

The U.S. Supreme Court hands down an unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Ed was a major milestone in the civil rights movement.

1:50m read

1965

The FBI Laboratory weighs in on the “dirty” lyrics of “Louie Louie”

Based on outcry from parents who bought into what may have started as an idle rumor, the FBI launched a formal investigation in 1964 into the supposedly pornographic lyrics of the song “Louie, Louie.” That investigation finally neared its conclusion on May 17, 1965, when the FBI Laboratory declared the lyrics of “Louie Louie” to […]

2:10m read

1970

Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl sails papyrus boat

On May 17, 1970, Norwegian ethnologist Thor Heyerdahl and a multinational crew set out from Morocco across the Atlantic Ocean in Ra II, a papyrus sailing craft modeled after ancient Egyptian sailing vessels. Heyerdahl was attempting to prove his theory that Mediterranean civilizations sailed to America in ancient times and exchanged cultures with the people […]

2:48m read

1973

Televised Watergate hearings begin

In Washington, D.C., the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, begins televised hearings on the escalating Watergate scandal. One week later, Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as special Watergate prosecutor. On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into and illegally […]

2:22m read

1974

LAPD raid leaves six SLA members dead

In Los Angeles, California, police surround a home where the leaders of the terrorist group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) are hiding out. The SLA had kidnapped Patricia Hearst, of the wealthy Hearst family publishing empire, months earlier, earning headlines across the country. Police found the house when a local mother reported that […]

2:22m read

1989

One million protesters take to the streets in Beijing

On May 17, 1989, a crowd of protesters, estimated to number one million, marches through the streets of Beijing calling for a more democratic political system. Just a few weeks later, the Chinese government moved to crush the protests. Protests in China had been brewing since the mid-1980s when the communist government announced that it […]

1:34m read

2000

Final episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210” airs

Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) and David Silver (Brian Austin Green) finally say their vows, and on-and-off couple Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) reunite, as the curtain closes on the teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 after 10 seasons. The final episode of the show, which premiered on October 4, 1990, on […]

2:48m read

LGBTQ+ History

11 videos

LGBTQ+ History

How Did the Rainbow Flag Become an LGBTQ+ Symbol?

A Vietnam War veteran and drag performer came up with the iconic design in 1978.

LGBTQ+ History

What Happened at the Stonewall Uprising?

The June 1969 riots at New York City's Stonewall Inn marked a raucous turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Here's a timeline of how it unfolded.

LGBTQ+ History

How Fire Island Became an LGBTQ+ Destination

For decades, LGBTQ+ people have turned to Fire Island as a place of visibility, celebration and belonging.

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