Robin & Maurice Gibb, born this date

Maurice Ernest Gibb CBE (December 22, 1949 – January 12, 2003) was a musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, the twin brother of Robin Gibb, and younger brother to Barry. He is best known as a member of the singing/songwriting trio the Bee Gees, formed with his brothers Robin and Barry. The trio got their start in Australia, and found major success when they returned to England. The Bee Gees became one of the most successful pop groups of all time.

Born Maurice Ernest Gibb to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb, he grew up in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England. Maurice (pronounced "Morris"), was the fraternal twin brother of Robin Gibb, and was the younger of the twins by thirty-five minutes. The fourth-born of five children, he had one older sister, Lesley (b. 1945), and three brothers, Barry (b. 1946), twin Robin (b. 1949), and Andrew (b. 1958). In late 1958, he and his family, including baby brother Andy, moved to Brisbane, Australia, settling in one of the city's poorest suburbs, Cribb Island, which was subsequently demolished to make way for the Brisbane Airport.

Gibb was married to the Scottish pop star Lulu from 1969 to 1973; they had no children, and the pressure of their respective commitments led to their divorce. Together with his second wife Yvonne, Gibb had two children: Adam and Samantha.

Gibb loved the sport of paintball, and had a team which he called the Royal Rat Rangers, a reference to his being named a Commander of the British Empire, and to his time at the Little River AA group, where the members referred to each other as "river rats." He promoted the sport at every opportunity, and opened a paintball equipment shop, "Commander Mo's Paintball Shop," in North Miami Beach, Florida.

Maurice Gibb died at a Miami Beach, Florida, hospital on January 12, 2003 of complications resulting from a twisted intestine (volvulus). Following his death, his surviving brothers Barry and Robin announced that they would no longer perform as the Bee Gees.

In 1968 Robin married Molly Hullis, a secretary in Robert Stigwood's organisation. The couple had survived the Hither Green rail crash, which killed 49 people on the 5th November 1967. They have two children, Spencer and Melissa, but they eventually divorced in 1980 after years of living separate lives, with Robin almost permanently in the USA and Molly remaining in the UK. He remarried in 1985. Robin's second wife, Dwina Murphy, is an artist, and they have a son, Robin John. Gibb is currently living on the outskirts of Peel, Isle of Man and still continues to own property in Thame. He is a vegan.