(born May 22, 1930, Woodmere, Long Island, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 27, 1978, San Francisco, Calif.) U.S. political leader. After graduating from college, he served in the U.S. Navy and was discharged in 1955 (although Milk claimed that he was dishonourably discharged due to his homosexuality, military records do not support the allegation).
He later settled in San Francisco and soon gained a following as a leader of the city's gay community. In 1977 he was elected to the city's Board of Supervisors, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in U.S. history. In 1978 Milk and the city's mayor, George Moscone (1929–78), were shot and killed in City Hall by Dan White, a conservative former city supervisor. At White's murder trial, his attorneys argued that his judgment had been impaired by eating junk food (a tactic later derided as the “Twinkie defense”); his conviction on the less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter sparked riots in the city. Milk was the subject of numerous books and movies, including the 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, which received an Academy Award.
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