Out of My Ancient Tree

At the beginning of November my landlord sent out officials to check their properties. Two lovely ladies visited me in my flat, and on their way out one of them noticed my family tree chart on the wall. “Oh, someone’s done their family tree”, she said, “How far back have you gone?”

“How far back have you gone?” That’s usually the first question people ask, even other genealogists. We genealogists often try to out-do each other, reaching the outermost limits of ancestry. There’s nothing new in that. People have been chronicling their ancestry for 3,000 years or more. You only have to read the Bible, with all those people “begatting” all the way back to Adam and Eve. Other faiths and most mythologies produce lineages to their own founding deities. The main reason for this was power. If a person can persuade others that he/she is descended from their head god or deity they can say it is proof of their divine right to rule over others.

A more recent application of this, of a divine lineage which claims supreme authority, comes in “The Da Vinci Code”. True, it’s only fictional, but so many people believe it to be true that it has now become a modern “urban” myth. The idea of Christ having a child and descendants isn’t new. I’ve written before about this silly theory. If any alleged bloodline from Christ existed to the Merovingian royal dynasty in France then most people in Europe, the Americas, North Africa, Middle East and Australasia can claim to be his heir. The Da Vinci Code bloodline was disproved decades before it was even written, and Dan Brown knew it was false.

Back to my wall-chart. Not only does it show my descent from the Merovingian kings through King Alfred the Great of Wessex, but it also shows my very probable descent from a historical person who lived in 350 BC. That man is the Macedonian general Antiokos of Orestes.

Is that possible? According to modern genealogical evidence it is. Scientific DNA testing is adding more evidence. Only last year scientists used DNA testing to prove there are living relatives of the so-called “gay caveman” Ötzi.

It means that I, as well a most of Europe and Asia, have in my DNA material inherited from Antiokos and his son Seleukos, one of Alexander the Great’s top generals and founder of an empire.

Seleukos was a page-boy at the court of King Philip of Macedonia, the usual starting point for any young noble destined for a military career. As a child Seleukos would have known Philip’s son, the future Alexander the Great, who was about the same age.

By 327 BC Seleukos had become commander of the elite infantry troop called the Silvershields. In 334 BC he accompanied Alexander on his campaign in India. When Alexander the Great died his empire was divided up and Seleukos took control of the area that became known as the Seleucid Empire. At its height the empire covered southern Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Over time parts of the empire were invaded by its neighbours, but the bloodline flowed directly from Seleukos to the succeeding rulers of the old imperial territories.

This ancestry doesn’t give me any divine right to do anything other than display it on my wall. And, as with the Merovingians, it’s an ancestry which most people share. Of the people I’ve covered so far in my “Out Of Their Tree” series so far most of them can be shown to descend from both the Merovingians and Seleukos – Rufus Wainwright, Langston Hughes, Will Young, Sir Noël Coward, Lauren Meece, Alan Turing, Toller Cranston, Clare Balding, Florence Nightingale, Mark Bingham, Virgil Thomson, Peggy Seeger, Lance Bass, Antonio Hoyos y Vinent, Cole Porter, Michael Dillon and Tom Daley. Other descendants I haven’t covered yet include Ellen Degeneres, Divine, Jodie Foster, Rupert Everett, Christopher Isherwood, Francis Bacon and Lawrence of Arabia.

Professional genealogists admit that there are very few probable lines of descent from antiquity. Written records are often scarce. The problem is that some ancestral lines are incomplete and the gaps filled with educated guess-work. For example, the descent from the Merovingians of all those mentioned above comes through an un-named Anglo-Saxon princess. All genealogists know for sure is that she is either a daughter or granddaughter of King Egbert I of Kent. The fact that this princess’s husband was created king of Kent is evidence of her status as an heir to that throne. Because there’s no proof to show to which generation she belongs, this descent is called probable. There’s no doubt about the ultimate line of descent, only the exact route. There are other examples like this throughout genealogy. That’s why I can claim we are all descended from Alexander the Great’s general and not be proved wrong.

It’s a pity I can’t say I’m descended from Alexander the Great himself. I find it very difficult to find any link to his family at all. But I think being descended from his greatest successor is good enough for me.

What about other great lgbt figures in antiquity? Although I can’t honestly claim any descent from any of the Roman Emperors with queer sensibilities such as Hadrian, Elegabalus, Nero, Tiberius, etc., I can claim that we are all cousins of Cleopatra! She has a proven line of descent from Emperor Seleukos.

 

Around the World in 80 Gays : Part 1 - A Quest

Here we go on our round the world tour of lgbt heritage. As I said in the introduction a few days ago this will be a continuous journey bringing us back to this our starting point. The problem with that is where is our starting point? Where do we start? In a continuous circle of names there is no start, so I have to decide which person will lead off the journey.

I’ve decided to start with someone who is a topical subject at the moment in the UK because of the up-and-coming Oscar and Bafta awards. One of the leading films of late 2014 was “The Imitation Game”, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in a fictionalised life story of the code-breaker (1) Alan Turing (1912-1954).

The film was inspired by one of the first major biographies of Turing that tackled the subject of his homosexuality non-judgementally. That biography was called “Alan Turing: The Enigma” and was written by (2) Dr. Andrew Hodges (b.1949).

Andrew is a mathematician and senior research fellow at the Mathematical Institute. In 1972 he began working with the eminent physicist Roger Penrose (now Sir Roger Penrose) on twistors. I won’t claim to understand twistor mathematics or how it relates to physics and quantum theory, but Andrew has been working on this enigmatic subject for over thirty years.

Speaking of “enigmatic” brings me back to (1) Alan Turing and Andrew’s biography. Andrew learnt about the fate and Turing at about the same time he began working on twistor theory. As a gay man in the 1970s Andrew also played a part in the gay liberation movement. In 1977 Andrew wanted to make the story and tragedy of Turing’s life more widely known, so he began researching for the biography which was published in 1983.

Very few people had heard of (1) Alan Turing before  (2) Andrew Hodges’ biography of him came out, and even fewer people realised what a significant part Turing had played in the World War II and, later, in the development of the computer. This is hardly surprising. All of Turing’s work, and that of everyone else at Bletchley Park, was still top secret in the 1980s. Gradually, through the 80s the work of these Bletchley Park code-breakers was revealed and many of them who were still alive began to speak of their secret wartime careers. To most historians Turing was a mathematician who came up with theories of artificial intelligence and computers. Since the 1980s, and Hodges’ biography, Turing’s work at breaking the Nazi Enigma codes gained recognition.

Also working at Bletchley Park, and responsible for breaking one of the other Nazi codes, was (3) Noel Currer-Briggs (1919-2004), one of my “Twelve Noels of Christmas” last month. Noel later became a genealogist and leading authority on the Turin Shroud. In his book “The Shroud and the Grail” (1987) Noel wrote about his research into the period between 1204 and 1353 when the Holy Grail and the Turin Shroud were “lost”, disappearing from written records after the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders.

Using his code-breaking mind Noel followed a whole series of clues and believed that, if it existed, the Grail passed through several families until it came into the possession of a Christian sect called the Cathars in the 14^th century. From that point the Grail disappears from history all together.

The Shroud, however, was taken to Greece and passed into the family of one of the last Templar Knights. Noel looked at the genealogical descent of this family back to Crusaders who sacked Constantinople in 1204. That family gave the Shroud to the Duke of Milan in Turin, and it has remained there ever since.

(3) Noel Currer-Briggs admitted that his theories were mostly circumstantial, but he believed the Shroud and the Grail were once inextricably linked. Unlike the Shroud, the Holy Grail had long been the subject of medieval romance poetry. Unlike the Grail, the Shroud was a proven historical object, regardless of who and why is was created.

During his research Noel followed most of the theories on the Holy Grail put forward before World War II by a German historian who said that the link between the Grail and the Templars came through one of the earliest medieval romance poems. A Templar knight called Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote a poem called “Parzival” in which the Grail featured. Wolfram located the Grail in the mystical mountain retreat called Munsalvaesche. Noel agreed that this was very probably the very real Montségur, a retreat of the Cathars. There’s no actual connection between the Templars and the Cathars, but a modern novelist has helped to confuse the two in the popular mind.

“Parzival” was the poem which first inspired that German Grail historian to pursue his quest. His name was (4) Otto Rahn, and I’ll begin Part 2 of “Around the World in 80 Gays” with Otto Rahn.

Epiphany's Night Visitors

As a supplement to one of my themes for 2014 (music) it seems appropriate on this Feast of the Epiphany to look at an opera which features this event which Christians celebrate each year. That is the arrival of the Three Kings to the Nativity.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” is one of those seasonal favourites that is broadcast every year somewhere around the world. From its origins as a written-for-television opera it has joined the ranks of “A Christmas Carol”, “White Christmas” and “The Messiah” as a seasonal essential.

Its origin and subject matter was highly influenced by the childhood of its gay composer, Italian-born Gian Carlo Menotti.

The plot of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” is perfect in its simplicity. The Three Kings arrive at the home of a disabled boy called Amahl and his mother on their way to the Nativity. Amahl’s mother tries to steal some of their gold. The kings forgive her and she gives back to gold. Amahl and his mother wish they could send a gift to the Christ child. When Amahl offers one of his crutches his lameness miraculously vanished. He then accompanies the kings on their journey to the Nativity.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” was the first opera written specifically for television. The NBC network in America wanted to put more opera on the small screen so commissioned Menotti to write and opera for their Christmas schedule of 1951.

This wasn’t NBC’s first approach to Menotti. In 1939 they commissioned him to write an opera for radio. The result was “The Old Maid and the Thief”.

It took Menotti a while to come up with an idea. He had the notion of it being an opera for children and it was his won childhood which provided the inspiration.

Growing up in Italy Menotti’s childhood Christmases were devoid of that one thing that the British/American public take for granted – Father Christmas or Santa Claus. Not every country has Santa as a gift-bringer, if it even has Santa at all. In Italy, and several other Mediterranean countries, the Christmas gift-bringers are the Three Kings, and they bring them on this night, not Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, globalisation is depriving the world of its rich variety, as Italy is one of those countries where Santa is gradually taking over the gift-bringing duties.

Menotti was wandering through the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art with less than 2 months to come up with a complete opera. Pausing in front of a painting by Heironymus Bosch called “The Adoration of the Magi” all those happy memories of the Italian tradition of the Three Kings flooded back and he realised he had found the subject for his opera.

From the way he described it himself it sounds like one of those moments you see in cartoons when a light bulbs flash above characters heads when they get an idea. For several years Menotti had lived in the US and had become so used to Santa Claus that his memories of the Three Kings were in danger of being consigned to the furthest corner of his memory. So thank God for Heironymus Bosch!

Once he had got his subject Menotti set to work. From the very start he wanted to write the part of Amahl for a boy. Quite often in opera a boys’ character is portrayed by a female singer, but Menotti was adamant that Amahl should always be sung by a boy. Perhaps that is one of the elements that has made the opera so special.

With the NBC’s deadline rapidly approaching Menotti completes his opera with only a few days before it was due to be broadcast on Christmas Eve 1951. Menotti’s life partner, the fellow composer Samuel Barber, was roped in to do the final orchestrations.

The premiere of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” was broadcast across the US in the biggest multi-network hook-up for an opera on television. It proved an instant success, with an estimated 5 million people seeing it, again the biggest for an opera on television up until then. Its popularity ensured a repeat performance the following year. In these modern days when we re used to programmes being repeated ad nauseum in the same week, this must have made “Amahl and the Night Visitors” feel very special.

Around the World in 80 Gays : Introduction

Way back in 2012 I mentioned that one of my most favourite television series of all time is James Burke’s “Connections” and all its spin-offs.

I’ve been gathering together many connections between people I’ve written about and have found links with many others. With this in mind I’ve created a huge string of lgbt connections and present it to you in a new series called “Around the World in 80 Gays”. I use the word “gay” in this context to be inclusive of all lgbtq communities, and because it provides an obvious pun on the title of Jules Verne’s famous book “Around the World in 80 Days”.

As the title suggests I’ve gathered the names of 80 people in the lgbt and queer community from all around the world and throughout history to create an unbroken chain on connections.

It would be quite easy to just write about “who knows who” but that would be too simple and too boring. What I’ve looked for are unusual connections which are not obvious or well-known.

The UK’s LGBT History Month in February has no specific theme, as there has been in previous years (i.e. music in 2014, science and technology in 2013, and sport in 2011 and 2012). I’ve used these themes on my blog and covered them throughout those years. With no specific theme for 2015 I’m using “Around the World in 80 Days” as my continuing theme for this year.

There will be several articles each month featuring 2 or 3 lgbt  people who are connected in some way, with one of them leading on to the next article where 2 or 3 more connected people are featured, and so on until we eventually come back to our original person at the end of the year. Each of the “80 Gays” will have a number so that you can keep track of how many I’ve connected along the way.

A few of the people I write about will already have been featured in my blog. Hopefully I can come up with something new to write about them. And I will try to include a many different subjects as I can - art, war, religion, politics, music, literature, science, and anything else that springs forward from the research.

It all sounds a bit complicated but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it as the year progresses.

As we go “Around the World in 80 Gays” this year we’ll encounter The Three Musketeers, the ruins of Pompeii, the Portuguese Inquisition, and a spy called Fagot.

Remembering Those Who Have Gone

As 2014 turns into 2015 we have a look at those in the lgbt community who have died in the past twelve months.

January 2014

5^th        Tom Chorlton, political science professor, Democratic Party lgbt activist, aged 67.

5^th        Daniel James McClung, playwright, aged 26.

8^th        Angela Clayton, nuclear physicist, trans activist, aged 54.

14^th      Bernard Perlin, war artist, aged 95.

29^th      David A. Cohen, founder of PINKPages and Pride magazine, aged 59.

February 2014

4^th        Mark Bennett, Mayor of Lambeth, Greater London, aged 43.

10^th      Hudson, avant-garde art and exhibition gallery owner, aged 63.

18^th      Henry Messer, civil rights pioneer and philanthropist, aged 86.

20^th      Roy Simmons, former Washington Redskins football player, aged 57.

27^th      Chuck Schoen, co-founder of American Veterans for Equal Rights, aged 88.

March 2014

2^nd       Norman Scarfe, historian, aged 90.

14^th      Danny J. Boos, Mr. Chicago Leather 1997, aged 48.

31^st      Frankie Knuckles, DJ and House music pioneer, aged 59.

April 2013

6^th        Dr. Charles Farthing, AIDS research pioneer, aged 60.

7^th        George Dureau, artist, aged 83.

16^th      Rev. Jim Cotter, first Hon. Sec. of the Gay Christian Movement (UK), aged 72.

May 2014

6^th        Lex Watson, pioneering Australian lgbt activist, aged 71.

24^th      Storme DeLarverie, Stonewall Riot veteran, aged 93.

June 2014

12^th      Cameron Fox, gay porn actor, aged 36.

21^st      Peter de Rome, called the “Grandfather of Gay Porn”, aged 89.

23^rd      Nancy Garden, pioneering lesbian novelist, aged 76.

24^th      Caleb Bankston, former contestant of “Survivor” tv series, aged 27.

30^th      Frank M. Robinson, columnist, novelist, speech writer, aged 87.

July 2014

17^th      Ross Burden, celebrity chef, aged 45.

September 2014

1^st        Caryn Berman, HIV/AIDS educator, aged 61.

3^rd        Mariah Crossland, Gay Games powerlifting silver medallist, aged 55.

28^th      Dr. Max Schneider, pioneer in addiction medicine, aged 92.

October 2014

4^th        Konrad Boehmer, composer, aged 73.

23^rd      Raleigh Trevelyan, historian and biographer, aged 91.

23^rd      Paul Cottingham, activist, partner of Michael, Lord Ashman, aged 50.

November 2014

6^th        Milan Rozsa, Hungarian lgbt activist, aged 26

8^th        Trevor Pharo, sales executive, founder of annual clown convention, aged 60.

15^th      Leslie Feinberg, trans pioneer and author, aged 65.

19^th      Brad Crelia, journalist and HIV/AIDS activist, aged 29.

December 2014

4^th        Rt. Hon. Jeremy Thorpe, former leader of the UK’s Liberal Party, aged 85.

15^th      Tori Johnson, café manager shot by terrorist in Sydney, aged 35.

The Twelve Noels of Christmas : 4

It’s the last Sunday in Advent, and here are the final three Noels of Christmas.

The 10^th Noel – NOËL GREIG (1944-2009)

Way back in November 2012 I wrote about a ground-breaking play called “As Time Goes By” which was the inspiration for “Bent”, the story of gay love in a Nazi concentration camp. “As Time Goes By” is regarded as the first play to deal with the historical persecution and suppression of gay men, and it was co-written by Noël Greig.

 

It was Noël’s interest in history that marks out his plays as more than just a modern-day concern for gay rights. His knowledge of previous issues was vital in informing audiences of the development of contemporary concerns. This went even further, into a future vision as depicted in his 1983 play “Poppies”, which dealt with a future world on the brink of nuclear destruction and the possible consequences of equal rights.

 

From his working-class background he went to study history at King’s College, London. An academic career was not for him, however, and when he graduated he found work in theatre. He also founded an arts commune called the Brighton Combination which displayed his vision of theatre and radical politics working together.

 

Unlike other radical, left-wing campaigners in theatre Noel didn’t seem to be a theatrical snob. He was involved in other radical theatre groups as well as the established theatre. He received commissions from, and worked with, several leading UK theatres, including the Crucible in Sheffield and the Aldgate in London. He also worked as assistant director on a West End production of “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Noël’s driving passion was for the inclusion of all sections of society in theatre.

 

All though his career Noel worked with many community groups on theatre projects, ranging from homeless people’s groups in the UK to Islamic groups in Iran, from school groups in Derbyshire to elderly writers’ groups in Newark not far from me.

 

But it is work with the UK’s Gay Sweatshop for which he will be best remembered, most particularly for “As Time Goes By” which he wrote specially for them and was premiered in 1977 in the hotel I can see from my window right now. He worked with the Sweatshop for ten years, writing, producing, directing, and later administrating. Noel’s importance in the public realisation of the horrors of the Nazi persecution of gay men should not be ignored.

 

The 11^th Noel – NOEL CAVERNELIS (b.1973)

Noel Cavernelis appears to be a multi-talented man – a teacher, an artist, an athlete, and a singer. As a teacher he has worked at the International School at Vantaa in Finland for several years. He is an art teacher, and examples of his own artwork are displayed on his Facebook page, among other places.

 

Even though he now lives in Finland Noel is South African by birth and moved to Finland before 2002. He competed "for" Finland at the World Outgames in Copenhagen in 2009. He later competed at the Gay Games in 2010 in Cologne. He medalled in four events both times, ad won the same medals in the same events: gold in the long jump, and silver in the high jump, 100 metres and 200 metres. Noel also won a long jump gold medal at the 2012 EuroGames in Budapest, along with two silver medals in the high jump and triple jump.

 

As a singer Noel competes in karaoke competitions. Karaoke doesn’t have a very high reputation as a serious activity here in the UK, but there are people in Finland and other countries who enter international karaoke competitions, and Noel has managed to reach semi-finals.

 

The 12^th Noel – NOEL DAVIS (1927-2002)

The final Noel brings us full circle. When he began his acting career Edgar Davis decided to choose a more distinguished theatrical name, and so he named himself after the person who was my 1^st Noel of Christmas – Sir Noël Coward.

Liverpool-born Edgar was encouraged to take an interest in the theatre by his parents, and through his time serving in the Merchant Navy he determined on a career on the stage. And so Edgar became Noel (without the “ë”), and he earned a reputation as a good character actor, often playing rather camp characters.

Noel also found himself appearing in many popular UK television programmes, ranging from Shakespeare to science fiction. These included some of favourite childhood series – “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)”, “The Dick Emery Show”, “UFO” and “The Avengers”.

In 1974 he worked at the Oxford Theatre Festival where he began casting parts for plays. It was a profession he spent the rest of his life pursuing. From theatre he moved to film, due to his life-long friendship with gay director John Schlesinger. The first film which credited Noel as casting director was Schlesinger’s “Yanks” (1979). Perhaps the most famous film he was casting director for is “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991).

 

And that completes my 12 Noels of Christmas.

 

I’m having a well-earned break for a few days and won’t be back until New Year’s Eve. To everyone I wish a Very Merry Christmas, and many thanks for your interest in my blog.

Olympian Stats

Following the publication of my list of LGBT Olympians last week several people have pointed out an error with one of the names. That name has been removed. However, a new name was suggested, which I’ve checked, and have added in its place.


Here are some facts and figures which may not be apparent from the new list. These statistics do not include the reserve/alternate Olympians or Paralympians.

131 athletes in the women’s competitions

73 athletes in the men’s competitions
160 athletes at the summer games
44 athletes at the winter games
1 entrant in the art competition

Earliest identified lgbt athletes - Summer

Amsterdam 1928 : Otto Peltzer, Germany (athletics), and Renée Sintenis, Germany (sculpture)

Earliest identified lgbt athlete - Winter

Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 : Ronnie Robertson, USA (figure skating)

Earliest identified “out” lgbt athlete at the Games

Amsterdam 1928 : Renée Sintenis, Germany (sculpture)
Innsbruck 1976 : John Curry, GB (figure skating), outed by media after winning gold, he never denied it
Seoul 1988 : Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism (the first to compete as an out athlete)

Top 3 Summer Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not openly lgbt at the time)

50 - Sydney 2000
45 - Beijing 2008
44 - London 2012

Top 3 Winter Olympics with the most lgbt athletes (including those who were not openly lgbt at the time)

18 - Turin 2006
15 - Vancouver 2010
12 - Sochi 2014

The Olympics with the most medals won by lgbt athletes

Summer : 22 medals won by 18 athletes – Athens 2004 (8 gold, 9 silver, 5 bronze)
Winter : 14 medals won by 11 athletes – Turin 2006 (5 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze)

The Olympics with the most lgbt gold medal champions

Sydney 2000 - 11 medals won by 10 champions
London 2012 - 9 medals won by 9 champions

Top 3 Olympic sports with lgbt athletes

28 – football (26 of them women)
22 - track and field athletics
18 - figure skating (all men)

Top 3 lgbt Olympians with the most medals

9 - Ian Thorpe, Australia, swimming (5 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
8 - Ireen Wüst, Netherlands, speed skating (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
7 - Karin Büttner-Janz, Germany, gymnastics (2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)

Top 4 lgbt Olympians with the most gold medals

5 - Ian Thorpe, Australia, swimming
4 - Greg Louganis, USA, diving
4 - Ireen Wüst, Netherlands, speed skating
4 - Jayna Hefford, Canada, ice hockey

Lgbt Olympian who have competed in the most games

6 - Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism (1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004)

The 3 youngest lgbt Olympians

13 years old - Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia, figure skating (Innsbruck 1964)
14 years old - Tom Daley, GB, diving (Beijing 2008)
15 years old - Marian Lay, Canada, swimming (Tokyo 1964)

The 3 oldest lgbt Olympians

48 years - Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism (Athens 2004)
47 years - Martina Navratilova, USA, tennis (Athens 2004)
47 years - Karen Hultzer, Germany, archery (London 2012)

The 3 youngest lgbt medal winners

16 years - Greg Louganis, USA, diving (1 silver : Montreal 1976)
16 years - Karin Büttner-Janz, E. Germany, gymnastics (1 silver, 1 bronze : Mexico City 1968)
17 years - Ian Thorpe, Australia, swimming (3 gold, 2 silver : Sydney 2000)
[[17 years - Ewa Kłobukowska, Poland, athletics (1 gold, 1 bronze : Tokyo 1964) The first Olympian to fail the gender test and stripped of her medals. The test is now discredited but her medals have not been reinstated]

The 3 oldest lgbt medal winners

48 years - Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism (1 bronze : Athens 2004)
45 years - Carl Hester, GB, equestrianism (1 gold : London 2012)
44 years - Robert Dover, USA, equestrianism (1 bronze : Sydney 2000)

The most medals won at one games by one lgbt athlete

5 (3 gold, 2 silver) - Ian Thorpe, Australia, swimming (Sydney 2000)
5 (2 gold, 3 silver) - Ireen Wüst, Netherlands, speed skating (Sochi 2014)
5 (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) - Karin Büttner-Janz, E. Germany, gymnastics (Munich 1972)

Only lgbt athlete to compete in both Summer and Winter Olympics

Christine Witty (USA)
Winter Olympics : speed skating - 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Summer Olympics : cycling – 2000

Top 4 countries with the most lgbt Olympians

46 - USA
28 - Canada
18 - Netherlands
18 - Germany (incl. East and West)