Attenborough, David (1926-…), is a British naturalist, writer on natural history, and television personality. He won fame for his many television series, which have explored the diversity of the world’s plant and animal life. Attenborough is also an environmental advocate.
Attenborough joined the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a trainee television producer in 1952. He began making wildlife documentaries for television in the mid-1950’s. From 1954 to 1964, he made several series of TV programs for the BBC under the general title Zoo Quest. These programs were television expeditions to remote parts of the world. Attenborough and his crew filmed some of the rarest wildlife in their natural environment.
From 1965 to 1972, Attenborough was part of BBC management. He then returned to production, producing and writing such series as Life on Earth (1979); The Living Planet (1984); and The First Eden: Mediterranean World and Man (1987). He also wrote and narrated an anthropology series called The Tribal Eye (1976). Attenborough narrated Wildlife on One (1977-2005), one of the longest-running natural history series in British television history. He won Emmy Awards for his narration of the TV programs Blue Panet II (2017-2018); Our Planet (2019); and Seven Worlds, One Planet (2019). Many of Attenborough’s television scripts were published in book form.
David Frederick Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926, in London. He is the younger brother of the actor and motion-picture director and producer Richard Attenborough. Queen Elizabeth II knighted David Attenborough in 1985, and he became known as Sir David Attenborough. He also received the 2021 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award. Champions of the Earth awards are the highest environmental honors given by the United Nations (UN).
