Phyllis Lyon and her late wife, Del Martin 

Octorber is LGBT history month and Logo (AfterElton.com's parent company) has launched a site that provides a timeline of LGBT history, with spotlights on people who've contributed to queer culture and a look at the progress LGBT people have made over the years. The site mixes video from Logo documentaries like Roxy: The Last Dance, gay films dealing with LGBT history such as Brother to Brother, as well as profile videos from previous LGBT History Months.

I'm finding the site really engrossing; it's a great way to quickly fill in gaps in your knowledge of LGBT history or just brush-up on some of the bits you might have forgotten.

Meanwhile the Equality Forum is once again looking at 31 LGBT icons, with a profile of a different icon every day. This year's celebration of gay history starts with the late Del Martin and her wife Phyllis Lyon, who were the first same-sex couple married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2004 and the first couple legally married in California earlier this year. Each icon is examined with a short video, a biography and a handout nicely formatted for classroom use.

As in past years, the list includes a mix of people: artists, activists, athletes scholars along with people who became a part of history. Last year's list sparked some debate about if the picks were the best choices in teaching about LGBT history. What do you think? Is this year's mix appropriate? Does it improve on previous lists?

After the break, check out the full list of 2008's icons, a list that includes Mark Bingham, Greg Lougainis and Tony Kushner.

The Equality Forum is sponsoring GLBT History Month this October.

The annual project got its start back in the 1990's when educators and community leaders called for a month dedicated to the celebration and teaching of GLBT history. The month of October was selected because schools are in session and existing GLBT events, such as Coming Out Day (October 11th), happen in October.

Modeled on Black History Month and Women’s History Month, the project's goal is to "teach GLBT history, to provide inspiring role models, and to highlight the GLBT community’s important worldwide contributions."

As part of the project they are spotlighting 31 prominent gay cultural/historical figures... one for each day of the month. The list runs the gamut, including the likes of Cary Grant and Florence Nightingale. I've a feeling some of these picks are going to be controversial. But perhaps that is the point. They are almost certain to generate debate, and I'm curious what AfterElton.com readers think.

The full list of GLBT History Month icons appears after the break...