Check out some interesting facts about David Attenborough, from his first documentary to the animal he likes the least.
Sir David Attenborough, Britain’s favorite naturalist, turned 96 on May 8, 2022.
David Attenborough facts
#1 Sir David Attenborough was born in Isleworth, West London, on May 8, 1926.
The same year as Queen Elizabeth II!
#2 He was raised on the campus of University College, Leicester
Now the University of Leicester, where his dad was principal.
#3 Sir David doesn’t count himself as an animal ‘lover’
But instead says he has always been fascinated by them.
#4 He’s thrifty!
At age 11, he made a deal with University College, Leicester to sell newts to them for 3d (3 pence) each. The newts only came from a pond 5m from the zoology department at the university!
#5 He is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programs in black and white, color, HD, and 3D.
#6 He doesn’t own a car as he never passed his driving test
He also doesn’t like to send emails and would rather get letters by fax or mail.
#7 During World War II his parents adopted two Jewish refugee girls from Europe.
#8 There’s only one animal Sir David doesn’t like…
Rats!
#9 Sir David was rejected from the first job he ever applied for at the BBC
The position of radio talk producer.
#10 In 1947, he served in the Royal Navy for two years.
Based in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.
#11 When Sir David got his first job in television, he didn’t even own a TV
Like most British people at the time!
#12 His first programme, called Coelacanth, looked at the rediscovery of the coelacanth
– a prehistoric fish.
#13 More than ten plants and animals are named after Sir David.
Such as the Nepenthes attenboroughii – a giant carnivorous plant that devours animals as large as rats – and the UK’s new polar research vessel, RRS Sir David Attenborough.
#14 In 1985, he received a knighthood
Granting him the title of Sir David Attenborough.
#15 He’s thought to be one of the most well-travelled people on the planet
For The Life of Birds documentary, he travelled a whopping 256,000 miles – that’s the same as travelling around the world ten times!
Overwhelming, but not surprising. It’s all that one would have expected Sir David to have done in his unquenchable curiosity about the universe and its natural wonders.
Sir DAVID IS THE MOST BRILLIANT ACCOMPLISHED COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEING 🤩🤩🤩👌👌👌👍OUR PRIVILEGE TO HAVE LIVED AND WITNESSED THIS MAGNIFICENT MAN👌👌👌👌👌😍👍👍👍
love the man, his commitment to the planet, his passion for nature and the wonders of the earth, there will never be another like him, he is a treasure.
Words can’t express how much I love and admire this man. He is irreplaceable.
I don’t know this man, but from what I’ve read here about him, I perceive him to be a man who doesn’t give up on himself, or others. And, he would carry a ton of knowledge about his interests in life and would be willing to share that knowledge with whomever he felt would benefit from it. He sounds like a hero to this 85 yr. old woman!
He is a legend and really good at what he does. I have always been a huge fan of Sir David Attenborough, not surprised that he prefers mail and faxes, they are alot more reliable than technology, technology is only usfull for its speed to get a message, not everyone is tech savvy. Although I was surprised to learn that he only applied for 1 job and got rejected, I bet they regretted not giving him the role he applied for when he started filming his own documentary series
When david unfortunatley passes away,we should have an attenborough day showing all his programmes in homes pubs and clubs to celebrate his life and show our apreciation for enlightning our lives with some of the most unbeleviable acts of nature. We must never forget this man even if we have a bank holiday named after him