In the late 70s to early 80s, a disease began spreading around the United States that drastically weakened the immune system of many people who would have otherwise been healthy. This disease, known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is caused by the HIV retrovirus. As the disease began spreading throughout the country, the most high-risk individuals were men who had sex with other men, intravenous drug users, immigrants, racial minorities, and hemophiliacs.

At the start of its progression, no one knew exactly what caused it, but people did know that most who caught it were gay men. As a result, it became known as the “gay disease” or the “gay cancer” to the general public and wildly shaped the way citizens treated gay men and HIV-positive individuals.

This timeline gives a brief overview of the AIDS crisis as well as key moments that defined how people responded to the epidemic in Pennsylvania.

References

“2020 Annual HIV Surveillance Summary Report.” Pennsylvania Department of Health, Aug. 2023, www.health.pa.gov/topics/Documents/Programs/HIV/2020%20Annual%20HIV%20Surveillance%20Summary%20Report.pdf.

Burton, William, and Barry Loveland. Out in Central Pennsylvania : The History of an LGBTQ Community. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2020.

“History.” AIDS Law Project, 13 Apr. 2020, www.aidslawpa.org/about-alpp/alpp-history/.

“Timeline of the HIV and AIDS Epidemic.” HIV.Gov, 2024, www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline.