5 September 1946 — Freddie Mercury is born on Zanzibar

Had Freddie Mercury survived he would be celebrating his 66th birthday today. Freddie Mercury was born as Farrokh Bulsara on the island of Zanzibar (then a British protectorate, joined with an independent Tanzania in 1964) on 5 September 1946 to Bomi and Jer Bulsara. Freddie's parents were Indian Parsis, and they had moved to Zanzibar for Bomi's job as a cashier in the British Colonial Office. Farrokh was sent to Bombay to study at the age of 7.