Video: 'Freddie Mercury - Death UK News 1991'

(Sunday, November 24, 1991, approximately 6:50 p.m. GMT) — Freddie Mercury, a British singer, songwriter, record producer and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen, died quietly tonight at his home in west London, just one day after he publicly announced he was HIV positive. He was 45.

The cause of death was bronchopneumonia resulting from AIDS.

Video: 'Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story'

Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, Mercury was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Regarded by fans and critics alike as a consummate showman, Mercury was openly bisexual and enjoyed a colorful rock-star lifestyle.

Mercury was born Farookh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946 and spent most of his childhood in India before his family settled in England in 1964. That year he enrolled in art school.

Mercury, Roger Taylor, Brian May and Mike Grose formed Queen in 1970.