- He is frequently credited as one of the most important figures in the LGBT Rights movement.
- In 1978, he was elected to the San Francisco city council, becoming the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California.
- He was posthumously awarded the Presidential medal of Freedom in 2009.
- Was of Lithuanian Jewish descent.
- His life has inspired such works as Randy Shilts' "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" and Romanovsky & Phillips' song "Homophobia", "Execution of Justice" an award-winning play by Emily Mann about his murder (remade for TV in 1999: Execution of Justice (1999)) and Stewart Wallace's and Michael Korie's opera, "Harvey Milk".
- The Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy was named in his honor. Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy is a small, public alternative elementary school located in the heart of the Castro District.
- Played football in high school.
- Did not decide to pursue a career in politics until he was in his mid-forties.
- The Harvey Milk Institute in San Francisco, California was named in his honor.
- Opened the Castro Camera store, with his partner Scott Smith, after moving to San Francisco in 1972.
- Was a teacher before entering politics and activism.
- Served in the U.S. Navy and achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade.
- His nephew Stuart Milk is also a LGBT Right activist and founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation.
- Was inspired to enter politics after his anger over the Watergate Scandal.
- Pictured on a nondemominated, 'forever' USA commemorative postage stamp issued 22 May 2014. Price on day of issue was 49¢.
- He was murdered by San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White, who also killed Mayor George Moscone. White's defense of diminished capacity was infamously dubbed the "Twinkie Defense" and White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
- On November 6th 2021, A Navy ship named for him was christened and launched.
- Harvey Milk was an acquaintance of the notorious cult leader, Rev. Jim Jones, who later took his group the People's Temple to Guyana in South America where hundreds of them committed mass suicide. Milk enlisted the People's Temple members' help in campaigning for election, even though he expressed reservations in private. Although the People's Temple gained later notoriety, it was one of the few churches at the time which embraced racial equality and gay rights and was actually quite progressive in some ways, which is why they backed Milk's platform.
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