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Farrokh Bulsara - Before becoming the icon the world knows as Freddie Mercury, he was Farrokh Bulsara, born in Stone Town, Zanzibar (then a British protectorate and now part of Tanzania) on September 5, 1946.

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Childhood home - After his family emigrated to England when he was 17 (they were fleeing the Zanzibar Revolution), they settled in this Feltham home in 1964. Pictured: Queen's Brian May with Freddie Mercury's sister, Kashmira Cooke, at the unveiling of an English Heritage blue plaque in 2016.

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Passion for music -

Freddie Mercury's love of music was apparent from his days as a schoolboy in India, where he lived and studied before joining his family in Zanzibar prior to their move to England. It was also in India where he would start calling himself Freddie.

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An artist -

Before Queen, the singer attended art school in London, graduating with a diploma in graphic art and design in 1969. He would later use his art background to create Queen's logo.

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Mary Austin - Around this time he met Mary Austin, with whom he had a romantic relationship until 1976. It ended when Mercury told her he was attracted to men, but they had a lifelong friendship regardless. Mercury even wrote 'Love of My Life' about her.

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Queen is (almost) born - Freddie Mercury was part of a few failed bands until he met his Queen bandmates in 1970.

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Brian May - In April 1970, he met guitarist Brian May and joined his band Smile.

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Roger Taylor - Also in the band was drummer Roger Taylor.

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John Deacon - Bassist John Deacon would join them in 1971, and soon after Freddie would choose Mercury as his last name, as well as choosing Queen as the band's new name.

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Debut album - Queen released their self-titled debut album in 1973, under a deal with Trident/EMI (they would have deals with several labels over the years). Freddie Mercury composed five of its 10 tracks. The album went gold in the UK and US.

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'Queen II' - Released to mixed critical reception, this follow-up album nonetheless charted better in the UK and US than the previous. What's more, 'Seven Seas of Rhye,' written by Mercury, became the band's first hit.

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'Sheer Heart Attack' - Then came their third album, which in 1974 was by far their most successful to date. Having gone platinum in the UK and also a success in the US and Europe, it featured Queen's first massive hit, the Freddie Mercury-written 'Killer Queen.'

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'A Night at the Opera' - 'Sheer Heart Attack' marked the start of the classic Queen sound, which reached new heights with 'A Night at the Opera.' The Freddie Mercury-penned hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the standout track on this album, which was certified 3× Platinum in the US.

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'A Day at the Races' - Not as successful as their previous album but still boasting a very solid showing, 'A Day at the Races' featured the Freddie Mercury-written hit 'Somebody to Love.'

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'News of the World' -

If 'A Day at the Races' was commercially a step back, 'News of the World' and its lead single, 'We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You' (the two songs were issued together), put Queen on top of the world and remains one of their best-selling albums.

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Mercury the star -

With Queen now enjoying enormous success, all eyes were on the band's front man. Here he is in 1977 with Elton John and Jamaican singer Peter Straker.

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Ready Freddie - He was, after all, incredibly theatrical, with a penchant for bold costumes.

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Mercury's moves - He also knew how to incorporate dance into his performances. Here he is attending a ballet class in Covent Garden in London in 1979.

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'Jazz' - Yet another successful album from Queen was 1978's 'Jazz,' which featured the Freddie Mercury-penned hit 'Don't Stop Me Now.'

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'The Game' - 'The Game' was an even greater success, being certified 4× Platinum in the US and producing hits like 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love.'

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An iconic look is born - With the '70s behind him, Freddie Mercury debuted a new look: short hair and one glorious mustache.

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Dapper Mr. Mercury - Not that the mustache was always a constant⁠—here he is shaving it off in 1984.

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'Hot Space' - Rewinding a bit to 1982, 'Hot Space' was not as commercially successful as several of Queen's previous albums, but the effort did produce 'Under Pressure,' featuring the late David Bowie. Pictured: Bowie at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1992.

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'The Works' - Unfortunately, 'The Works' did not mark a return to Queen's previous successes, but it did give us the classic hits 'Radio Ga Ga' and 'I Want to Break Free.'

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Other projects - Released in 1985 while Queen was on hiatus from recording, 'Mr. Bad Guy,' Freddie Mercury's first and only solo album, was a commercial flop. More successful was his 1988 collaboration with the late Montserrat Caballé, 'Barcelona,' which spawned the theme for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

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Live Aid - But 1985 also saw Queen's performance at Live Aid, which is considered one of the best live performances in the history of rock. Indeed, Queen is regarded as one of the greatest stadium rock bands ever, regularly performing to crowds of over 100,000.

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'A Kind of Magic' - Improving on the last albums but not the commercial success of times past, 'A Kind of Magic' is the last album Freddie Mercury would promote with a concert tour. The track 'Who Wants to Live Forever' is off this album, released a year before Mercury's AIDS diagnosis.

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AIDS diagnosis - According to Freddie Mercury's longtime partner Jim Hutton, the singer was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. His Queen band members knew, but Mercury largely kept his diagnosis private, this despite stories from the press.

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Death - On November 24, 1991, only a day after publicly revealing he indeed had AIDS, Freddie Mercury died at the age of 45 from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. Although he never came out, he is nonetheless widely considered an iconic LGBT music artist.

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Last works - Prior to his death, Freddie Mercury and Queen released 'The Miracle' and 'Innuendo.' 'Made in Heaven,' released posthumously in 1995, featured some of Mercury's lyrics, vocals, and him speaking.

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Other works - Freddie Mercury had also previously released solo singles, and, besides studio albums (which include the soundtrack to 'Flash Gordon'), Queen released many live and compilation albums, the latter of which include 'Greatest Hits,' the best-selling album of all time in the UK.

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'Bohemian Rhapsody' -

In 2018, Freddie Mercury was brought to life on the big screen by Rami Malek, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance. The film, which was nominated for Best Picture, also has the distinction of being the highest-grossing music biopic of all time.

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Queen + -

As for Queen, the band continued to make music following Mercury's death. John Deacon retired in 1997, and the band rebranded as Queen + in 2004. They began touring extensively, notably with Paul Rodgers (from 2004 to 2009) and since 2011 with Adam Lambert.

See also: Remember some of Queen's biggest hits

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