Edie Windsor made history when her case United States v. Windsor overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a landmark victory in the fight for same-sex marriage. Windsor filed the case after her longtime partner Thea Spyer passed away and Windsor was unable to claim spousal exemptions over Spyer’s estate because "spouse" only applied to heterosexual marriages. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor, effectively putting the final nails in DOMA’s coffin. Windsor was also active in a wide range of other LGBTQ+ causes, and as a former IBM employee was very involved in the tech world. She passed away in 2017 at the age of 88.
