200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

Our Story

Why this source is used

Foundation account of Matthew Shepard's murder and the movement for dignity, equality and hate-crime reform that followed.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer How did anti-LGBTQ+ violence shape public memory? Major attacks and murders became remembered as community, legal and political turning points, not only as criminal cases. Read the topic guide Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence and Public Memory Murders and attacks including Matthew Shepard, the Admiral Duncan bombing, Jody Dobrowski and Pulse became public-memory milestones as well as criminal cases.

Source Status

Publisher
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Type
organisation
Reliability
high
Cited by
3 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.matthewshepard.org/about-us/our-story/ Accessed 4 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.matthewshepard.org/about-us/our-story/

Used by Topics

Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence and Public Memory

Used by Questions

How did anti-LGBTQ+ violence shape public memory?

Used by Timeline Events

12 October 1998 DiscriminationInternationalPeople

Murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming

Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, tortured, and tied to a fence near Laramie on the night of 6 October 1998. He was found 18 hours later and died in hospital on 12 October without regaining consciousness. The case became a catalyst for federal hate crime legislation and galvanised the LGBTQ+ community against anti-gay violence worldwide.