English comedian and writer Graham Chapman was BOTD in 1941. Born in Leicester, he studied medicine at Cambridge, butturned down a career as a doctor to become a comedian. He established a writing partnership with John Cleese at the BBC, writing for radio and television comedies including I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again and Doctor in the House. In 1969, he formed comedy sketch troupe Monty Python with Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. Their television sketch series Monty Python’s Flying Circus became a hit in the UK (and eventually seduced America), pioneering a surreal combination of slapstick, sexual innuendo and high-concept intellectual humour. Chapman contributed to many of the troupe’s most well-known scenes, including the Dead Parrot and Cheese Shop sketches, and played “The Colonel”, a Kitchener-esque stiff who stopped sketches in mid-flow complaining that they were “too silly”. Chapman also played the lead in the comedy films Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Life of Brian, memorably singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life whilst nailed to a crucifix. His later career included writing and starring in the garrulous comedy Yellowbeard, reuniting with the Pythons in 1983 for The Meaning of Life and appearing in a music video for rock group Iron Maiden. In 1972, Chapman came out as gay during a TV chat show, becoming one of the first public figures in the UK to do so. He met his long-term partner David Sherlock in 1966, remaining together for 23 years and adopting a son together. He became a vocal spokesman for gay rights, lending his support to the newspaper Gay News during a 1972 blasphemy trial for publishing a homoerotic poem about Jesus Christ. He died in 1989 aged just 48. Amid many posthumous tributes, Asteroid 9617 Grahamchapman was named in his honour.