Sir David Attenborough is a highly influential British broadcaster, biologist, and natural historian, renowned for his decades-long career in wildlife documentary filmmaking. Beginning with Zoo Quest in 1954, he has written, presented, and narrated numerous acclaimed series, including The Life Collection and the Planet Earth franchise. He is celebrated for his contributions to raising environmental awareness. Attenborough has received numerous awards, including multiple BAFTA and Emmy Awards, acknowledging his pioneering work in natural history broadcasting and conservation advocacy.
In May 1926, David Frederick Attenborough was born in Isleworth, Middlesex. His father, Frederick, was the principal of University College, Leicester. He grew up in College House on the university campus.
In 1936, David Attenborough and his brother Richard attended a lecture by Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney) in Leicester. Grey Owl's conservation advocacy profoundly influenced David.
In 1945, Attenborough won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, to study geology and zoology.
In 1947, Attenborough was called up for national service in the Royal Navy. He spent two years stationed in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.
In 1950, after becoming disillusioned with editing children's science textbooks, Attenborough applied for a job as a radio talk producer with the BBC, but was rejected.
In 1952, David Attenborough joined the BBC full-time and became a producer for the Talks department, which handled all non-fiction broadcasts.
In 1954, David Attenborough rose to prominence as the host of Zoo Quest.
In 2015, David Attenborough returns to film "Great Barrier Reef" at a location he first filmed at in 1957.
In 1964, BBC Two was launched and Attenborough shook up the schedule after becoming controller, establishing programs that defined the channel's identity. Programmes he commissioned included Man Alive, Call My Bluff, Chronicle, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Monty Python's Flying Circus and The Money Programme. Pot Black was also launched showing the benefits of colour television.
In March 1965, Attenborough became Controller of BBC Two, succeeding Michael Peacock.
In 1969, "Civilisation", presented by Sir Kenneth Clark, was broadcast to universal acclaim on BBC Two after Attenborough ordered a 13-part series on the history of Western art. Other series followed including Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.
In 1969, Attenborough made a three-part series on the cultural history of the Indonesian island of Bali.
In 1969, Attenborough was promoted to director of programmes at the BBC.
In 1969, David Attenborough created "The World About Us" as a vehicle for colour television.
In 1971, Attenborough joined the first Western expedition to a remote highland valley in New Guinea to seek out a lost tribe, documented in the film "A Blank on the Map".
In 1972, when Attenborough's name was suggested for the position of Director-General of the BBC, he confessed that he had no appetite for the job.
In 1975, David Attenborough presented a series on tribal art titled "The Tribal Eye", another on the voyages of discovery titled "The Explorers", and a BBC children's series about cryptozoology entitled "Fabulous Animals".
In 1977, David Attenborough began narrating every episode of "Wildlife on One", a BBC One wildlife series.
Beginning with the release of "Life on Earth" in 1979, Attenborough established a benchmark of quality in wildlife film-making, influencing a generation of documentary film-makers.
In 1979, Attenborough visited the People's Republic of China and reported to the West for the first time about the Chinese one-child policy.
In 1987, David Attenborough wrote and presented "The First Eden", a series on man's influence on the natural history of the Mediterranean Basin.
In 1987, the "Meerkats United" episode of "Wildlife on One" was voted the best wildlife documentary of all time by BBC viewers.
In 1990, David Attenborough worked on the BBC's "Prisoners of Conscience" series, highlighting the case of the Sudanese poet Mahjoub Sharif.
In 1990, The Trials of Life was released, completing the original Life trilogy, looking at animal behaviour through the different stages of life.
In 1993, David Attenborough presented "Life in the Freezer", the first television series to survey the natural history of Antarctica.
In 1995, Attenborough presented "The Private Life of Plants", which showed plants as dynamic organisms using time-lapse photography. The series went on to earn a Peabody Award.
In 1997, David Attenborough narrated the BBC Wildlife Specials, each focusing on a charismatic species and screened to mark the Natural History Unit's 40th anniversary.
In 1998, Attenborough made "The Life of Birds" on the theme of behaviour. The documentary series won a second Peabody Award the following year.
In 1999, Richard Attenborough directed "Grey Owl", a biographical film about Archibald Belaney (Grey Owl).
In 2000, David Attenborough's documentary "State of the Planet" assessed the impact of human activities on the natural world.
In 2001, David Attenborough narrated "The Blue Planet", the BBC Natural History Unit's first comprehensive series on marine life.
In 2002, Attenborough's "The Life of Mammals" utilized low-light and infrared cameras to reveal the behavior of nocturnal mammals.
In 2002, David Attenborough's autobiography, Life on Air, was published, marking a significant milestone in documenting his life and career.
In 2003, David Attenborough helped to launch ARKive, a global project to gather natural history media into a digital library.
In 2003, David Attenborough launched an appeal on behalf of the World Land Trust to create a rainforest reserve in Ecuador in memory of Christopher Parsons.
In 2004, a lecture finally convinced David Attenborough that humans were responsible for climate change.
In 2005, "Life in the Undergrowth" introduced audiences to the world of invertebrates, made possible by advances in macro photography.
In 2005, David Attenborough backed a BirdLife International project to stop the killing of albatross by longline fishing boats.
In 2005, David Attenborough finished narrating "Wildlife on One", a BBC One wildlife series that ran for 253 episodes.
David Attenborough had been skeptical of human influence on climate change, remaining silent on the issue until 2006 when he began speaking out about it.
In 2006, David Attenborough gave support to WWF's campaign to have 220,000 square kilometres of Borneo's rainforest designated a protected area.
In 2006, David Attenborough released "The Truth about Climate Change", focusing on the issue of global warming.
In 2008, David Attenborough completed his collection of programmes on all the major groups of terrestrial animals and plants with the broadcast of "Life in Cold Blood", filling the gap of reptiles and amphibians. This entire collection was brought together in a DVD encyclopaedia called "Life on Land".
In January 2009, the BBC commissioned David Attenborough to provide a series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of nature, entitled "David Attenborough's Life Stories", which were broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday nights.
In 2009, David Attenborough released "How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?", addressing the issue of human population growth.
In 2009, David Attenborough's autobiography, Life on Air, was revised, indicating continued interest and relevance of his life story.
In 2010, David Attenborough asserted that his "First Life", which deals with evolutionary history before "Life on Earth", should be included within the "Life" series, stating that it completes the set in the documentary "Attenborough's Journey".
In 2010, David Attenborough partnered with Sky, and their first collaboration was "Flying Monsters 3D", a film about pterosaurs which debuted on Christmas Day.
In 2011, David Attenborough had a prominent role in "Frozen Planet", a major series on the natural history of the polar regions, where he appeared on screen, authored the final episode, and performed voiceover duties.
In September 2014, David Attenborough continued as one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's "Tweet of the Day", which began a second series.
In October 2014, the BBC announced a trio of new one-off David Attenborough documentaries: "Attenborough's Paradise Birds", "Attenborough's Big Birds", and "Waking Giants".
In 2015, Atlantic Productions created a three-part, David Attenborough-fronted series called "Great Barrier Reef".
In 2015, David Attenborough narrated the third series of "David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities" for the UKTV channel Watch.
In 2016, Attenborough reflected on his decision to turn down Terry Wogan's job application to be a presenter on BBC Two in the past, citing concerns about having two Irish presenters.
In 2016, David Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter for "Planet Earth II", with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer.
In 2017, David Attenborough returned as presenter for "Blue Planet II", which was critically acclaimed and gained the highest UK viewing figures for 2017.
In 2018, David Attenborough narrated the five-part series "Dynasties", with each episode focusing on one species.
In 2018, while promoting "Dynasties", David Attenborough said that repeated messages on threats to wildlife in programming could be a "turn-off" to viewers.
In 2019, David Attenborough narrated "Our Planet", an eight-part documentary series for Netflix, emphasizing the destructive role of human activities.
In 2019, David Attenborough's one-off film documentary about climate change for BBC One called "Climate Change – The Facts" was aired; the tone of the documentary was significantly graver than his previous work for the BBC.
In 2019, films such as "Extinction: The Facts", depicted the continuing sixth mass extinction, received praise for the increased urgency of environmental messaging.
In October 2020, David Attenborough began filming in Cambridge for "The Green Planet".
In October 2020, the documentary film "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet" was released on Netflix, reflecting on his career and hopes for the future.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, David Attenborough advocated on behalf of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and its conservation efforts.
In 2020, "A Life on Our Planet" received praise for the increased urgency of environmental messaging.
In 2020, David Attenborough backed a Fauna and Flora International campaign calling for a global moratorium on deep sea mining for its impact on marine life.
In 2020, David Attenborough was named as a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, an initiative of Prince William to find solutions to environmental issues.
In his 2020 documentary film "David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet", David Attenborough advocates for people to adopt a vegetarian diet or reduce meat consumption.
In June 2021, the documentary titled "Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet" was released on Netflix.
In 2021, David Attenborough gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), expressing optimism for the future.
In 2021, David Attenborough presented the three-part series "Attenborough's Life in Colour", and "The Mating Game", a five-part series.
In May 2022, David Attenborough's "Prehistoric Planet" aired.
In 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme recognised David Attenborough as a Champion of the Earth for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration.
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