Neil Alden Aromstrong
January 5th, 1930- August 25, 2012
Greatest Achievements
He was highly decorated for his actions in the Korean War, and is most well know for being commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to walk on the moon, a great achievement for any man in the late sixties.
Early Life
Born August 5th, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. As a young child Neil was interested in aviation and flying and space. He acquired his pilots license at age 16, before his drivers license. After school he attended Purdue University, but the Korean war interrupted college as he was a pilot in the Korean war. He graduated from Purdue University in 1955
NASA Achievements
He was originally a researcher and became a test pilot at NASA. He was personally selected to become an astronaut in 1962 on the Gemini 7 space craft. The Gemini 7 mission did not go as planned, but Neil brought it to safety. In 1969, after years of being an astronaut, he was selected as the captain of Apollo 11, with co-pilots of Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr, and Micheal Collins. They were the first men to land and walk on the moon. His famous words were, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." These words were spoken on July 20th, 1969. Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin retrieved over 50 pounds of moon rocks.
Neil Armstrong Biography
Later Life
Left NASA in 1971 to teach aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnatti, Cincinnatti, Ohio. He taught there for eight years, and left and found the position of chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., serving for 10 years from 1982 to 1992, but retired after that.
Death
He had heart surgery in August, 2012, and on August 25th, 2012 he died from complications of that surgery. He was buried at sea.
References
"Neil Armstrong." Bio. A&E, 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/neil-armstrong-9188943?page=1>.
Whitney, David C. "Armstrong, Neil Alden." Vol. 2. Groiler Inc, 2000. Print.