Schools will be encouraged to hold lessons exploring the achievements of gay men and women throughout history as part of the first gay history month. The project, to be held in February, will highlight the hidden history of household names who would probably today identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, such as William Shakespeare, who was rumoured to be bisexual, and Florence Nightingale, who few people know was a lesbian. Other events covered during the month will include talks on the early years of gays and lesbians in British television and discussions of the history of the British LGBT Muslim movement. The voluntary initiative, modelled on the successful black history month held each October, is being backed by the government and has been given a grant by the Department for Education and Skills. It will be officially launched at the Houses of Parliament on February 7. Jacqui Smith, the government minister responsible for equality, said: "I hope that lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender groups and their supporters across the country will take the opportunity to participate in the month and organise LGBT events in their areas.


Original letter from Isaac Newton to Richard Bentley



The Madness of Sir Isaac Newton
The experience of being abandoned by his mother scarred Newton and likely played a role in shaping his solitary, untrusting nature. He even remained silent about some of his scientific and mathematical discoveries for years, if he published them at all. At age 12, Newton was enrolled in a school in Grantham, where he boarded at the home of the local apothecary because the daily walk from Woolsthorpe Manor was too long. However, at age 15 or 16, he was ordered to quit school by his mother then widowed for a second time and return to Woolsthorpe Manor to become a farmer. The teen was uninterested in the job and fared poorly at it. After finishing his coursework there, Newton left for Trinity College, University of Cambridge in , putting farming behind him for good. In , following an outbreak of the bubonic plague in England, Cambridge University closed its doors, forcing Newton to return home to Woolsthorpe Manor.


Isaac Newton in Quarantine
Much has been written about Newton's sexuality on - it has to be said - very little hard evidence. It is certain that Newton never married, nor had any romantic involvement with a member of the opposite sex during his adult years. For many, that alone is suspicious.



Skeptics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientific skepticism. It only takes a minute to sign up. Sir Isaac Newton was a cold, austere and difficult man. The slightest criticism of his work drove him into a furious rage, and his life was blighted by vicious feuds with other eminent mathematicians.