Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the moon. He was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Armstrong was interested in flying from a young age and earned his pilot’s license at the age of 16. He studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University and served as a naval aviator during the Korean War. In 1962, he was selected as one of the NASA’s second group of astronauts. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, became the first humans to land on the Moon. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and famously declared, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” After returning to Earth, Armstrong continued to work for NASA, serving as a professor of aerospace engineering and as a member of the Challenger and Columbia accident investigation boards. He passed away in 2012 at the age of 82.
