The first openly gay elected official in the history of California.

Despite being the most pro-LGBT politician in America at the time, he was not open about his sexuality until after his experiences in the 1960s counterculture movements.

After Milk sponsored a successful bill in San Francisco banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, both Milk and Mayor George Moscone, who signed the bill into law, were assassinated by a disgruntled former city supervisor, causing him became an icon and a martyr in the gay community.