• British naturalist, author and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has worked with the BBC since 1952. Although he held several high level management positions at BBC in the 1960s and 1970s and helped the channel gain mainstream popularity, his true passion lay in creating nature documentaries.

  Attenborough was one of the pioneers of the nature documentary and is responsible for introducing the public to many animal species that had not previously been studied or filmed. He has worked as a writer, director, presenter, narrator and or producer on over 100 nature programs for the BBC that together, comprise an overview of life on Earth.

• Fast Facts

  1. Full name: David Frederick Attenborough
  2. Birth date: May 8, 1926
  3. Birth place: London, England
  4. Married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel in 1950
  5. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1985
  6. Authored over 20 books
  7. The prehistoric reptile, the Attenborosaurus Conybeari was named in Attenborough's honor
  8. Brother of actor and director Richard Attenborough

• Time Line

  • 1926: Born on 8 May in London, England
  • 1954: First documentary series, Zoo Quest airs
  • 1969: Becomes Director General of BBC
  • 1972: Resigns from Director General of BBC to concentrate on natural history program making
  • 1977: Wildlife on One airs
  • 1979: Life on Earth airs
  • 1985: David Attenborough is Knighted
  • 1993: Life in the Freezer airs
  • 2002: The Life of Mammals airs
  • 2002: Life on Air airs
  • 2005: Life in the Undergrowth is aired
  • 2005: Receives a Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest
  • 2005: Awarded the Order of Merit by the Queen
  • 2006: Planet Earth is aired

  
  

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Richard Attenborough | James Burke | Adam Curtis

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