Each year, LGBT+ History Month offers an opportunity to look again at the past and to reconsider who has shaped the world we live in. It is a moment to recognise lives and contributions that were often overlooked, misunderstood or deliberately excluded from mainstream history.
For UK LGBT+ History Month 2026, the theme is Science & Innovation. At first glance, this theme may suggest laboratories, experiments and inventions. But science and innovation reach far beyond these spaces. They influence how societies are organised, how public services operate, how environments are understood and protected, and how future possibilities are imagined.
Innovation is not only about what is discovered. It is also about who is allowed to contribute.
LGBT+ people have always been part of scientific progress and innovation, even when their identities were hidden or their contributions unrecognised. Many worked in environments where being open about who they were could limit opportunity, damage reputations or end careers. Others lived at times when science itself was used to justify discrimination, through the medicalisation and pathologisation of LGBT+ identities. These histories sit alongside stories of creativity, resilience and achievement, and all are essential to understanding the full picture.
The 2026 theme invites us to hold these truths together. It asks us to celebrate contribution while also reflecting on harm, and to consider what ethical, inclusive innovation should look like today.
Each year, five LGBT+ historical figures are selected in line with the theme. The figures chosen for LGBT+ History Month 2026 reflect the breadth of science and innovation across different fields and time periods.
Barbara Burford represents innovation in public service and healthcare leadership. A medical researcher, writer and equality leader, her work helped shape how the NHS approached equality and diversity, demonstrating that innovation also happens within systems, policies and organisational culture.
Charles Beyer, a locomotive engineer and founding member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, represents innovation in engineering and industrial infrastructure. His work contributed to the technologies that powered industrial growth and reshaped transport, industry and everyday life.
Elke Mackenzie, a botanist whose research focused on lichens in Antarctica, represents innovation in environmental and polar science. Her work expanded scientific understanding of extreme environments and highlighted the importance of research beyond traditional centres of power and visibility.
Jemma Redmond, a biotechnologist, represents innovation in future-facing medical science. Her work on 3D bioprinting explored new ways of creating tissues and organs, raising questions about accessibility, ethics and the future of healthcare.
Robert Boyle, widely regarded as a founder of modern chemistry and the scientific method, represents innovation in scientific thinking itself. His emphasis on experimentation and evidence helped shape how knowledge is created, tested and shared.
Together, these figures show that innovation is not a single story. It spans engineering, healthcare, environmental science, biotechnology and foundational scientific thought. It includes both discovery and application, theory and practice, systems and individuals.
Their lives also remind us that science does not exist outside society. It is shaped by culture, values and power. Who is encouraged, supported or excluded matters. Diverse teams and perspectives strengthen innovation, leading to solutions that better serve everyone.
LGBT+ History Month 2026 also encourages reflection on the ways science has been misused in the past. The classification and treatment of LGBT+ identities as illnesses or disorders caused real harm, the effects of which are still felt today. Acknowledging this history is essential to building ethical scientific practice and inclusive institutions.
As we look to the future, the theme of Science & Innovation asks an important question: what kind of progress do we want to create, and who gets to shape it?
The stories highlighted this year offer no single answer, but they do offer a shared lesson. Innovation thrives when people are allowed to think freely, contribute fully and be recognised for their work. History becomes richer when we tell it honestly, including the voices that were once pushed to the margins.
LGBT+ History Month exists not only to remember the past, but to inform the present and help shape the future. By recognising the diverse ways LGBT+ people have contributed to science and innovation, we take a step towards a fuller, more accurate understanding of progress itself.