Gay
historian Allan Berube, award-winning author of Coming
Out Under Fire, died Tuesday of complications
from two stomach ulcers. He was 61.
Gay historian
Allan Berube, award-winning author of Coming Out Under
Fire, died Tuesday of complications from two
stomach ulcers. He was 61.
Berube was an
independent historian and community activist. After coming
out in 1969, he joined a gay liberation collective
household. He later became a member of a gay commune
for craftspeople in San Francisco, where he remained
for many years, according to a statement released by a
friend, Wayne Hoffman. In 1978, Berube was one of the
founders of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History
Project. He produced acclaimed slide shows that
featured women who were living as men and married
other women.
Berube is best
remembered for his groundbreaking work of gay
history, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of
Gay Men and Women in World War II, published
in 1990. The Lambda Literary Award–winning book
was later adapted by Arthur Dong into a Peabody
Award–winning documentary and was often cited in 1993
Senate hearings on the military’s ban on gay
service members.
In 1996, Berube
received a genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation for his work.
Berube is
survived by his life partner, John Nelson; his mother; and
three sisters. (The Advocate)
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