Sir David Attenborough

Zoo Quest. Life on Earth. Planet Earth. These are all shows that were produced and hosted by Sir David Attenborough. David Frederick Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926 in London, England. He developed a fascination with the natural world early in his life. When he was seven years old, he assembled a collection of bird eggs and fossils himself. After graduating from high school, he was awarded a scholarship to study natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. 

In 1952, Attenborough began working for the British Broadcasting Corporation as a television producer. Zoo Quest, a series that he launched in 1954, was a program that filmed Attenborough with animals in the wild rather than taking them out of their natural habitat. This series established what is now the general standard for nature documentaries today. Another big show that Attenborough launched was the education series Civilisation in 1969, which was the first-ever color broadcast in Europe.

Despite his growing success, David Attenborough decided to resign from the BBC to begin writing and producing television series as a freelancer. Some successful programs that he produced as a freelancer were The Tribal Eye, Life on Earth, The Trials of Life, and Planet Earth. Attenborough is still very active in journeying around the world and producing TV series even at an old age. For example, in 2015, he dived 1,000 feet in a submersible off the Australian coast to film previously unseen parts of the Great Barrier Reef. In addition, he recently filmed a new BBC series, Planet Earth II, in Ultra HD.

Throughout his life, Attenborough has earned many achievements. In 1985, he was knighted and earned the privilege to add "Sir" to his name. He holds 32 honorary degrees from British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, several species have been named after him, such as the dinosaur, Attenborosaurus. Surely, through his travels and numerous TV series and documentaries, Attenborough has helped millions of us to understand and appreciate the wonders of the world.