The time was 3:18 a.m. on March 23, when the 91-year-old Lee, Singapore’s Prime Minister for three decades, died in the 50th year of independence of the city-state that he molded into one of the most sophisticated places on the planet. Lee had been admitted to Singapore General Hospital on Feb. 5 initially for severe pneumonia and, despite brief periods of improvement and the help of a ventilator, his condition deteriorated rapidly following an infection. The nation mourned his passing. “He inspired us, gave us courage, kept us together, and brought us here,” said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee’s son. “He … made us proud to be Singaporeans.”