Gilbert Baker Is Dead

ORIGIN
Gilbert Baker was an American artist and gay rights activist. He was best known for creating the 1978 rainbow flag. The flag was dubbed an internationally recognized symbol by the Museum of Modern Art. Baker was born on June 2, 1951, in Chanute, Kansas. He was raised in Parsons, Kansas. His mother, Patricia, was a teacher, and his father a lawyer. He had a sister named Ardonna Baker Cook. Baker attended college for one year. He dropped out before completing a degree.

CAREER
Baker spent two years in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972. He was stationed in San Francisco, California, where he served as a medic and nurse. Following his honorable discharge, Baker bought a sewing machine and taught himself to sew. He created several protest banners for use in San Francisco’s gay community and for anti-war marches.

Baker met openly gay politician ‘Harvey Milk’ in the 1970s. The two became friends and he later joined the activist group, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Baker created his iconic rainbow flag in 1978. The original flag contained 8 different colors with more than 1000 yards of cotton. The revised/modern version contains only 6 colors. Baker’s flag symbolizes gay pride and is popular in the LGBT community. The flag was recognized by the Museum of Modern Art as an internationally recognized symbol.

Baker has designed displays for other countries including France, Venezuela, and Spain. He’s worked with U.S. senator ‘Dianne Feinstein’, and also with the Democratic National Convention. Baker created his second-largest flag in 1994. It marked the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969. His largest flag was created in 2003. It stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean in Key West. That creation marked the 25th anniversary of the 1978 Rainbow Flag.

PERSONAL
Gilbert Baker died on March 31, 2017, at the age of 65. He passed away at his home in New York City. His official cause of death was hypertensive heart disease. He’s survived by his mother, Patricia, and sister Ardonna. Baker was about 5ft 10in tall. He came out as gay at age 19.

Gilbert Baker Bio, Net Worth, Height