Sir David Attenborough biography
For 50 years, Sir David Attenborough has brought the wonders of the natural world to the heart of millions through his pioneering natural history programmes.
Sir David Attenborough has won many awards for his outstanding work in presenting various aspects of natural history, including a Descartes Prize for Outstanding Science Communication Actions, an Order of Merit from Buckingham Palace and a Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. The Museum would now like to honour Sir David by building a live communications space, in the heart of the new Darwin Centre.
Work
After working for a publishing company, in 1952, at the age of 29, Sir David kick-started his BBC career as a producer for the Talks Department, based at Alexandra Palace. Two years later Sir David captured the hearts of viewers with his debut documentary series, Zoo Quest. Shortly after, he became controller of BBC2 until 1968 and commissioned a variety of landmark programmes including Match of the Day, Monty Python's Flying Circus and Pot Black. Sir David then moved on to become the BBC Television Director of Programmes &em; making him responsible for BBC1 as well as BBC2. But the lure of programme making was too strong and he resigned from this post and returned and went on to produce Eastwards with Attenborough.
During this period, Sir David produced one of the most ambitious natural history programmes viewers had ever seen, Life on Earth, which captivated an audience of around 500 million people. This was followed by other natural history documentaries written and presented by Sir David, including The Living Planet, The Trials of Life, The Life of Birds, The Private Life of Plants, Attenborough in Paradise and the outstanding Life in the Freezer, which honoured Antarctic natural history.
Sir David marked the millennium by producing State of the Planet - a documentary on the impact humans have had on the natural word and how we can prevent further damage. His more recent work includes the spectacular Planet Earth and Life in Cold Blood.
Timeline
| 1926 | Born on 8 May in London, England. |
|---|---|
| 1954 | First official written and presented broadcast of documentary series, Zoo Quest. |
| 1969 | Becomes Director General of BBC. |
| 1972 | Resigns from Director General of BBC to concentrate on natural history programme making. |
| 1977 | Wildlife on One is aired. |
| 1979 | Life on Earth is aired. |
| 1984 | The Living Planet is aired. |
| 1993 | Life in the Freezer is aired. Sir David also discovers that the Mesozoic reptile Plesiosaurus conybeari had not been a true plesiosaur. Paleontologist Robert Bakker renamed the species Attenborosaurus conybeari in Attenborough's honour. |
| 2002 | The Life of Mammals is aired, BBC releases Life on Air biography to celebrate Sir David's 50 years of BBC service. 2004 Obtains Descartes Prize for Science in the Public Interest. |
| 2005 | Life in the Undergrowth is aired. Sir David obtains a Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. Sir David was awarded the Order of Merit by the Queen. The Museum announces the David Attenborough Studio campaign. |
| 2006 | Planet Earth is aired. UKTV celebrates Sir David's 80th Birthday by announcing the nation's favourite Attenborough moment, which was a scene chosen from The Life of Birds series where Sir David is watching a lyrebird mimicing various noises. Sir David presents Are We Changing Planet Earth? on BBC One. A two-part series tackling climate change. Viewers from the Culture Show vote Sir David, Britain's Greatest Living Icon. |
| 2008 | Life in Cold Blood is aired. Life in Cold Blood is the final part of David Attenborough's 'Life' series. |
Toolbox
In World War II the Museum was used as a secret base to develop new gadgets for allied spies, including an exploding rat!