Sir David Attenborough is undoubtedly one of the most famous voices of the past fifty years. His passion for the planet, including the many animals and natural life that surrounds us, has made him not only a famous documentarian but a vital activist in conservation and environmentalism.
Before David was the voice of the Earth itself, he was born on May 8, 1926, in Middlesex, England, and lived his adolescence engulfed in nature, collecting fossils, stones, and natural specimens.
When he was only ten years old, he attended a lecture that would ignite his lifelong advocacy of conservation. When he attended Clare College in 1945, his degree in natural sciences allowed him to gain extensive knowledge of both zoology and geology.
In 1952, Attenborough got a job at BBC; however, producers did not think he had the right look for television, and he worked as a writer for several non-fiction programs.
But everything changed in 1954 when he produced a show called Zoo Quest, which was supposed to be presented by Jack Lester, who became ill at the last minute, forcing Attenborough to make his television debut.
David left the BBC’s permanent staff in the early 1960s so that he could attend the London School of Economics for a degree in social anthropology. But in 1965, he returned to BBC and, once again, began creating programs about the incredible planet we live on.
Over the next thirty years, he made dozens of documentaries about plants and animals, for which he traveled all around the globe, learning, sharing, and presenting on camera. He became the face and voice of nature programming and one of Earth’s most popular documentarians.
As the fight to keep the planet alive became more prominent, Attenborough aligned himself with conservationists and used his platform to spread the message: the Earth is in trouble.
The impact of humans on the natural world is something that this great man is extremely worried about. As he is undoubtedly one of the most popular narrators of nature programs, he has a widespread audience that will hopefully hear his pleas.
Attenborough had collected 32 honorary degrees from British universities, which is more than any other person to date. He has received two honorary knighthood titles for his services in broadcasting and environmentalism, hence his formal name Sir David Attenborough.
Almost everyone on the planet has heard of, watched, or listened to one of Attenborough’s well-made documentaries and television programs. He truly has made an incredible impact on how most people view the planet we live on.
His influence is unmatched, and even though he is 96 years old, Sir David Attenborough is still making documentaries hoping to change the world.