Contributions and Distinctions
Del Martin was a pioneering American lesbian, feminist and gay rights activist who co-founded the nation’s first lesbian organization. She was a leading figure in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. She also engaged in domestic violence advocacy. On February 12, 2004 in a ceremony officiated by the then-mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons had a historic marriage when they became the first known same-sex couple to be legally married in a civil ceremony in the United States.
Biographical Sketch
Del Martin (1921-2008) was born Dorothy L. Taliaferroin San Francisco. She graduated as Salutatorian from George Washington High Schools’ first graduating class. Martin then went on to study journalism at UC Berkeley and received a BA from San Francisco State College (now University) in the 1940s. While working at Pacific Builder and Engineer, a trade publication, in Seattle in 1950, Martin met Phyllis Lyon. The two women entered a relationship together and moved back to San Francisco together in 1953 and were married in 2004. Together they engaged in lesbian activism in San Francisco. Notably they founded Daughter of Bilitis alongside six other women, establishing the first lesbian political and civil rights group. She helped to edit its newsletter, “The Ladder,” from 1956 until 1962. She’s also contributed to other published work such as Lesbian/Woman which she co-authored with her wife Phyllis Lyon and Battered Wives (1976) which analyzes domestic violence as a result of institutionalized misogyny, prompting changes in legal systems. Beyond the Daughter of Bilitis, Martin engaged with many political and social causes, as one of the ninety-six Californian delegates in the 1977 National Women’s Conference. Her activism during the conference largely revolved around the abuse of women. She advocated for legal rights for abused spouses as well as greater access to resources and clinics for battered women.