World Celebrates 100th Birthday of Sir David Attenborough, The Voice of the Earth

Today, the world is celebrating the 100th birthday of the renowned naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, known to many as the "Voice of the Earth."

Sir David Attenborough began his career as a television broadcaster back in 1954 – when TV was still in black and white – after his application to become a radio broadcaster was rejected by the BBC. Since then, Attenborough has written, presented, or narrated more than 100 natural history documentaries and series, including Life on Earth, Our Planet, The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, and Planet Earth.

To this day, Attenborough still narrates documentaries, focusing on current issues like climate change and habitat loss. His films have been watched by billions of people, and they are known for their calming nature and well-timed humor. Many believe that it was Attenborough who popularized nature documentaries in the first place, bringing that same care and wonder to people all over the world.

In 1985, Attenborough was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he received a second, higher-ranking knighthood – the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) from then-Prince Charles in 2022. He is also incredibly educated– Attenborough holds 32 honorary university degrees, more than anyone else in the United Kingdom. He is also believed to be one of the most traveled people on Earth, having visited every single continent and both the North and South Poles– for the Life on Earth series alone, he traveled more than 256,000 miles. Most estimates place his lifetime miles traveled at approximately 1.9 million miles, with Attenborough having filmed in 333 different locations across 83 countries.

Today, the beloved nature broadcaster turns a staggering 100 years old, having worked at documentaries for more than 70 years. To commemorate Attenborough's incredible milestone, Britain's Natural History Museum has named a new species of parasitic wasp, Attenboroughnculus tau, after him– though, he already has more than 50 species, both living and extinct, named after him. The museum will also be running a special exhibit on Attenborough and his career through August.

Meanwhile, BBC One will run a live event at London's Royal Albert Hall to celebrate his birthday, despite his requests for a peaceful, quiet celebration. Messages from all over the world flooded Attenborough with emails and texts, for which he thanked everyone "most sincerely." Watch his full birthday message here.

Attenborough may be 100 now, but he is still advocating for life on Earth, and it remains essential that we protect the one, beautiful planet we have. He remains hopeful that our new generation can lead the planet to a "wonderful recovery." As he once said, "The final chapter is ours to write. What happens next is up to us."

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Sir David Attenborough is the only person to have ever won a BAFTA (British Academy Film and Television Award) for films in black and white, color, high-definition (HD), 3D, and 4K.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living. (Sir David Attenborough)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Dudgeon (noun, DUJ-un) - Dudgeon is typically used in the phrase “in high dudgeon” to describe someone who is angry and offended by something they perceive to be unfair or wrong.

In a Sentence: The customer stormed out of the store in high dudgeon after the manager refused to give them a refund for their purchase.

Image credit to the World Wildlife Fund