Neil Armstrong
1930–2012 1 entry
Biography
Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut, test pilot and aeronautical engineer, and the first person to walk on the Moon. Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, he earned his pilot’s licence before his driving licence and flew combat missions as a naval aviator in the Korean War. As a test pilot he flew the rocket-powered X-15 to the edge of space. In 1966 he commanded Gemini 8, which carried out the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit.
On 20 July 1969, as commander of Apollo 11, he set foot on the Moon, followed by Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins circled above them. The words he spoke as he stepped onto its surface were heard by hundreds of millions of people around the world. After leaving NASA he taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati and kept away from public life, and he died in 2012.
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