Queen singer, Freddie Mercury, was known as one of the greatest artists of all time. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, but didn’t admit this publicly until the day before he died in 1991. We can’t cure HIV yet, but there are better drugs and therapies that can keep patients healthier for longer. The impact of Queen’s music was huge, and with more time, Mercury could’ve released many more hits.

It’s not known exactly, but many conspiracy theories thought it was poisoning. However, accounts of his health decline across 2 weeks suggest otherwise (most poisons are faster acting). It’s more likely that he died of malaria or typhoid fever, which can be treated today. If Alexander had lived, he probably would’ve expanded his empire into North Africa and China. This might’ve led to some very different countries today.

James Garfield was the 20th American president and is mainly remembered for being assassinated in 1881. The wound wasn’t actually enough to kill him, and today he would have gone home in a matter of a few days. But at the time, doctors still hadn’t moved over to using the antiseptic techniques needed to prevent infection. Unfortunately, he died of blood poisoning 11 weeks later.

Wilbur and his brother Orville Wright are known as the fathers of modern aviation (flying an aircraft). Unfortunately, in 1912 Wilbur was diagnosed with typhoid fever - a highly infectious, bacterial disease spread by poor hygiene. Today it’s treated with antibiotics, and can be vaccinated against. Wilbur died about a month later, but imagine the inventions he could’ve come up with if he’d lived a bit longer!

In 1964 Sir Zachary Cope published an article where he diagnosed Austen with Addison’s disease (a rare disorder of the Adrenal glands) based on her own description. If Austen had lived today she would have been treated with steroid hormones for the rest of her life. Given she was only 41 when she died, it’s interesting to think about how her last novel “Sanditon” would have ended had she survived…

Tutankhamun, who reigned from 1332-1323 BC, died at just 19. DNA analysis of his mummified body showed severe strains of malaria in his system, the oldest known genetic proof of the disease. He could have been easily treated today. It’s difficult to predict how things might’ve been different if he’d lived, but the good preservation of his tomb has allowed us to learn much about the ancient rulers in death.

For a curable and preventable disease, TB still kills a lot of people. In fact, one third of the world’s population is infected with it, but they don’t all show signs of the disease and aren’t all infectious. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that we discovered the right antibiotics. It’s likely these three writers would’ve published lots more classic literary works if they’d lived.