Obituaries

Thursday 26 May 1994 23:02 BST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Norm Read, sportsman, died Te Awamutu, New Zealand, 22 May, aged 63. Emigrated to New Zealand from England in 1953. Gold- medallist in the 50km walk at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Competed in the 1960 Olympics, finishing fifth in the 20km walking event. Olympic judge at Barcelona in 1992.

Alfred Nier, physicist, died Minneapolis 16 May, aged 82. Helped develop the atomic bomb, following his identification in 1940 of uranium-235 as capable of sustaining slow-neutron fission. In 1938 his research using a mass spectrometer (an instrument which weighs and sorts atoms) determined the age of the Earth at around 5 billion years.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Thank you for registering

Obituaries

Join our commenting forum

Thank you for registering