Brian May (b. 1947)
Filed under the name Brian · October 25, 2026
Brian May is the lead guitarist of Queen, one of the biggest rock bands there's ever been, and he also holds an actual PhD in astrophysics, which is about as unlikely a combination of skills as I can think of, like finding out your best welder also moonlights teaching calculus. He's a vocal advocate for animal welfare and space science education both, which tells me the man genuinely cares about more than just the guitar solos, impressive as those apparently are. I don't listen to much Queen myself, more of a Sinatra and classic rock guy from an earlier stretch of the dial, but I respect anybody who takes two completely different kinds of hard work seriously instead of coasting on being famous for the one that made him rich. Rock stardom and real scientific curiosity don't usually show up in the same person. May apparently decided he didn't need to pick just one, and put in the actual work for both.