For #LGBThistorymonth I will be posting an #lgbtq #womaninhistory every day. Today is Angela Morley, a composer and conductor who became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Morley was a multi-instrumentalist who began her career playing in bands until in 1944 she joined the Geraldo Orchestra. As a composer, she is best known for her work on the BBC radio comedy classics Hancock’s Half Hour and the Goon Show.

Morley went on to work on music for US television shows including Dallas and Dynasty as well as for a number of Hollywood films, the most notable of which was the score for the animated feature Watership Down (1978). In addition to this, she assisted John Williams with the orchestration of the scores for Star Wars, Superman and The Empire Strikes Back.