# David Attenborough

| SirDavid AttenboroughOM CH CVO CBE FRS FLS FZS FSA |
| --- |
| Attenborough in 2018 |
| Born | David Frederick Attenborough  (1926-05-08) 8 May 1926 Isleworth, Middlesex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA) |
| Occupations | * Broadcaster
* naturalist
* film narrator
 |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Title | Controller of BBC2 (1965–1969) President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (1991–1996) |
| Spouse |
Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel
​ ​(m. 1950; d. 1997)​ |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Frederick Attenborough |
| Relatives | * Richard Attenborough (brother)
* John Attenborough (brother)
* Michael Attenborough (nephew)
* Charlotte Attenborough (niece)
 |
| Awards | * Cherry Kearton Medal and Award (1974)
* BAFTA Fellowship (1980)
* Kalinga Prize (1981)
* Kew International Medal (1996)
* International Cosmos Prize (2000)
* RSPB Medal (2000)
* Michael Faraday Prize (2003)
* José Vasconcelos World Award of Education (2004)
* Descartes Prize (2004)
* Nierenberg Prize (2005)
* Princess of Asturias Award (2009)
* Fonseca Prize (2010)
 |
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David Attenborough's voice
Duration: 37 seconds.0:37
Recorded January 2012 from the BBC Radio 4 programme *Desert Island Discs* |
| Signature |
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**Sir David Frederick Attenborough** (/ˈætənbrə/; born 8 May 1926) is a British naturalist and television personality.

His presenting career began as host of *Zoo Quest* in 1954. He is known for his nature documentaries. His documentaries include *The Life Collection*, *Natural World*, *Wildlife on One*, the *Planet Earth* franchise, *The Blue Planet* and *Blue Planet II*.

He has won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Narration and one Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Personality - Non-Daily.

## Life

Attenborough was born in London and grew up in Leicester. He is one of the most famous naturalists in the world. He presents many programs about nature, talks about the lives of animals and has stopped millions of people polluting the oceans. He has won many prestigious award and honorable mentions. In 1980, he won the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award. He is a younger brother of the director, producer and actor Richard Attenborough.

He is the only person to have won a BAFTA for programmes in each of black and white, colour, HD, 3D and 4K.

Attenborough has been knighted twice, first by Elizabeth II as a Knight Bachelor in 1985, then by Charles III in 2022, as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael And St George.

In 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme honored him as a Champion of the Earth "for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration".

In 2025, at the age of 99, Attenborough became the oldest person to win a Daytime Emmy Award.

In May 2026, Attenborough turned 100.

## Filmography

* *Life on Earth* (1979)
* *The Living Planet* (1984)
* *The Trials of Life* (1990)
* *Life in the Freezer* (1993)
* *The Private Life of Plants* (1995)
* *The Life of Birds* (1998)
* *The Life of Mammals* (2002)
* *Life in the Undergrowth* (2005)
* *Life in Cold Blood* (2008)
* *David Attenborough's Life Stories* (2009)
* *David Attenborough's New Life Stories* (2011)
* *Drawn From Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise* (2012) - with Errol Fuller
* *Planet Earth II* (2016)

## Species named in Attenborough's honour

*Sirdavidia solannona*
*Trigonopterus attenboroughi*
At least fifteen species and genera, both living and extinct, have been named in Attenborough's honour.

### Plants

Plants named after him include

* an alpine hawkweed (*Hieracium attenboroughianum*) discovered in the Brecon Beacons,
* a species of Ecuadorian flowering tree (*Blakea attenboroughi*),
* one of the world's largest-pitchered carnivorous plants (*Nepenthes attenboroughii*),
* a genus of flowering plants (*Sirdavidia*).

### Arthropods

Arthropods named after Attenborough include

* a butterfly, Attenborough's black-eyed satyr (*Euptychia attenboroughi*),
* a dragonfly, Attenborough's pintail, (*Acisoma attenboroughi*),
* the millimetre-long goblin spider *Prethopalpus attenboroughi*,
* an Indonesian flightless weevil (*Trigonopterus attenboroughi*), and
* a Madagascan ghost shrimp (*Ctenocheloides attenboroughi*).

### Living vertebrates

Vertebrates have also been named after Attenborough, including the

* Namibian lizard *Platysaurus attenboroughi*.
* the Inambari gnatcatcher *Polioptila attenboroughi*.
* the Peruvian frog *Pristimantis attenboroughi* and
* one of only four species of long-beaked echidna (*Zaglossus attenboroughi*).

### Fossils

* In 1993 it was found that the Mesozoic reptile *Plesiosaurus conybeari* was not a species of *Plesiosaurus*. The palaeontologist Robert Bakker renamed the species *Attenborosaurus conybeari*.
* A fossilised armoured fish discovered in Western Australia in 2008 was given the name *Materpiscis attenboroughi*, after Attenborough had filmed at the site and highlighted its scientific importance in *Life on Earth*. The *Materpiscis* fossil is believed to be the earliest organism capable of internal fertilisation.
* A miniature marsupial lion, *Microleo attenboroughi*, was named in his honour in 2016.
* The fossil grasshopper *Electrotettix attenboroughi* was named after Attenborough.
* In March 2017, A 430 million year old tiny crustacean was named after him.

## Views on population

In 2012 Attenborough was quoted as saying that the planet has always and will always look after itself but:

>  what worries him most about the future of the natural world is that people are out of touch with it ... over half the world is urbanised; some people don't see any real thing except a rat or a pigeon ... ecosystems are incredibly complex and you fiddle with them at your peril".
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When David Attenborough began his career, in 1950, Earth's human population was measured at just 2.5 billion people ... in 2012 he said:

> “We cannot continue to deny the problem. People have pushed aside the question of population sustainability and not considered it because it is too awkward, embarrassing and difficult. But we have to talk about it″.
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In January 2013, while being interviewed by *Radio Times*, he said:

> “We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now”.
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In a *Daily Telegraph* interview in September 2013 he said:

> "What are all these famines in Ethiopia? What are they about?" / "They're about too many people for too little land. That's what it's about. And we are blinding ourselves. We say, get the United Nations to send them bags of flour. That's barmy".
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## Other websites

* Official David Attenborough website Archived 2014-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
* As patron of Population Matters Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine