Happy Gay Day, G-Men in Dresses Edition

Though the stories about J. Edgar Hoover being a cross-dresser are considered to be urban myths, the rumors of his homosexuality were strong enough that a reporter who interviewed the FBI director headlined the story: "Hoover: He Always Gets His Man, But He Never Found a Woman."

TODAY IN HISTORY (May 10): 1863 - Confederate General Stonewall Jackson died after being accidentally shot by his own troops. 1869 - The United States’ first transcontinental railroad was completed with a ceremony in Promontory Point, Utah. 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover became director of the FBI. 1933 - The library collected by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, founder of the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin, was burned by Nazis. 1940 - Winston Churchill succeeded Neville Chamberlain as British prime minister. 1970 - Metropolitan Community Church of Chicago held its first service. 1976 - In England, liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe resigned after newspaper stories revealed an affair with model Norman Scott. Thorpe denied he was gay. 1994 - The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys. 1990 - Gay and lesbian activists found the Direct Action group OUTRAGE!, vowing to begin a campaign of civil disobedience unprecedented in the UK. Born on this day: 320 B.C. - Theocritus, in Syracuse. As any student will tell you, Theocritus developed the verse form known as the pastoral, a stylized and artful form usually about shepherds or cowherds who sing of love and friendship. They were highly homoerotic. No wonder, Theocritus was usually surrounded by a bevy of handsome young men. 1838 - John Wilkes Booth 1899 - Fred Astaire 1902 - David O. Selznick 1922 - Nancy Walker 1929 - Fats Domino 1930 - Pat Summerall 1936 - Gary Owens 1946 - Donovan 1957 - Sid Vicious 1960 - Bono (Paul Hewson) 1965 - Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) 1967 - Young MC 1978 - Kenan Thompson