In 1971, gay couple Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The clerk, not realizing one of the individuals listed on the application was male, issued the license — though stopped short of officially recording it.

Nearly five decades later — after a prolonged legal battle to get their union legally recognized — their wish was granted. The couple received a letter from the Social Security Administration on Feb. 16 officially validating their '71 marriage. The McConnells (Jack took Michael's last name) are now thought to be the longest-married, same-sex couple in the U.S. — and perhaps world.

“We knew from day one when we were legally married in 1971 that we were right — that we had followed the law to the letter,” Michael McConnell told NBC News. Read more via NBC