Bob Kohler
# Bob Kohler

Robert Andrew "Bob" Kohler (17 May 1926 – 5 December 2007) was a gay rights pioneer. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Kohler was a lifelong activist in New York City. He was at the Stonewall riots, and was a friend to many of the activists in groups like the Gay Liberation Front and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.

## Life

Kohler served in the U. S. Navy in the South Pacific Theater during World War II, was the manager of the New York gay bathhouse, Club Baths, and was among the first agents to represent previously unknown Black artists. He owned and ran the popular gay store The Loft on Christopher Street.

## Activism

Though Kohler is best known for his role at the Stonewall riots, and his early involvement with the Gay Liberation Front, where he wrote for their newsletter Come Out!. He was active with many movements and groups, including the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Black Panther Party, Act Up, Sex Panic, the Neutral Zone, the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Irish Queers, Fed Up Queers, animal rights groups, and FIERCE!

## Death

Kohler died of lung cancer on December 5, 2007, at the age of 81, in the Charles Street (West Village) apartment that he had lived in for 45 years.

