James Michael McConnell (born 1942) and Richard John "Jack" Baker (born 1942) are the first same-sex couple to be married legally with a license that was never revoked. Their wedding became the earliest same-sex marriage ever to be recorded in the public files of any civil government. McConnell, a librarian, and Baker, a law student, were gay activists in the U.S. state of Minnesota from 1969 to 1980. After their marriage in Minnesota on 3 September 1971, they were invited often to appear publicly at colleges, schools, businesses and churches in the U.S. and Canada.