Well compensated and politically conservative-he campaigned for Republican presidential hopeful Barry Goldwater in 1964-the straight-laced Milk was content to live a closeted life in those days. Kittiwake during the Korean War until his honorable discharge in 1955. Milk went on to attend Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and served as a diving instructor and chief petty officer aboard U.S.S. The second son of William and Minerva Milk, he came from a family with prominent ties to the community: His Lithuanian-born grandfather Morris owned Milk’s Dry Goods, which became the largest department store on Long Island, and had helped organize the area’s first synagogue. Harvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. Milk was murdered in November 1978 by a former colleague, Dan White. Winning a seat on the city’s Board of Supervisors, he emerged as one of the country’s preeminent openly gay elected officials, spearheading an important anti-discrimination measure.

After moving to San Francisco in the early 1970s, Milk established himself as a leading political activist for the gay community.

Keeping his homosexuality a secret at first, Milk became more openly gay through his exposure to New York City’s bohemian theater scene. Navy before working at a Wall Street investment firm. Harvey Milk, a native of Long Island, New York, served in the U.S.