Ronald McCoy obituary — Dr Ronald McCoy, the Malaysian obstetrician who proposed a global campaign to abolish nuclear weapons and gave it the name ICAN, has died aged 96. His death was announced on 1 September 2026.
Compiled from published reports. Last updated 2 September 2026.
Quick answers
When did Ronald McCoy die?
His death was announced on 1 September 2026. He was 96. Sources place the death itself in late August or early September, and the exact date is not consistently reported.
What was Ronald McCoy’s cause of death?
No cause of death has been made public.
What was Ronald McCoy known for?
Proposing the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons in 2005 and suggesting its name. ICAN launched in 2007 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
A doctor’s argument against nuclear weapons
He was born on 26 February 1930 in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, in what was then British Malaya, and lived through the Japanese occupation as a child. He trained as a physician, specialised in obstetrics, and practised for decades before leaving clinical work in the 1990s.
His case against nuclear weapons was a medical one rather than a political one. He argued that a nuclear war is a public health catastrophe that cannot be treated, only prevented — and that prevention means abolition. He joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and helped establish its Malaysian affiliate.
The name
In 2005, after a Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference ended in failure, he proposed a new civil society campaign aimed squarely at total abolition. He suggested what to call it: ICAN, after the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
ICAN launched in 2007, grew across more than a hundred countries, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
A note from Memories Mortuary
Memories Mortuary had no involvement in Ronald McCoy’s funeral arrangements. This obituary is published as a tribute, compiled from published reports. Obituaries for the families we serve are published separately.
Sources for this Ronald McCoy obituary
- Death and age — Wikipedia, Deaths in September 2026: en.wikipedia.org
- Biography, activism and the founding of ICAN — Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McCoy
The exact date of death is not consistently reported; sources place it in late August or early September 2026, with the announcement made on 1 September. No cause of death had been made public at the time of writing. Verified against the sources above on 2 September 2026.
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