Legendary British naturalist David Attenborough turns 100

Photo: 98-year-old David Attenborough to visit Wimbledon Tournament in 2024. Photo: Rob Newell — CameraSport via Getty Images

David Frederick Attenborough was born on May 8, 1926, in London. His father was a specialist in Old English and worked as a college director at the University of Leicester. His father took him on bike rides around Leicestershire, which sparked young David's interest in botany and zoology, writes the BBC.

His older brother Richard also dedicated his life to cinematography, working as an actor, director, and producer, and passed away in 2014 at the age of 90.

Attenborough began his career at the BBC in 1952 as a trainee. Two years later, he became a producer for the BBC's documentary department.

Attenborough became a presenter by accident. One time, he accompanied Jack Lester, the reptile curator at London Zoo, on an expedition to catch new animals. The footage from this expedition formed the basis for the program Zoo Quest. Before the first broadcast, Lester fell ill, and David Attenborough was asked to replace him as presenter at the last minute.

In March 1965, he became the controller of BBC Two. Under his leadership, the channel became the first in the UK to broadcast in color television. Attenborough set out to create a broadcasting network that was both entertaining and informative. He conceived ideas for many programs new at the time, including those unrelated to wildlife – on topics like music, show business, or finance.

In 1976, production began on David Attenborough's documentary series "Life on Earth." It chronicles the emergence and development of life on Earth — from its inception 3.5 billion years ago to the appearance of new species of insects, amphibians, mammals, and, finally, humans. No one had ever attempted to film a nature documentary of such a scale before. Over three years, the film crew visited 40 countries and documented over 600 animal species. The series aired on BBC Two in 1979 and was watched by 500 million people worldwide. After this, Attenborough cemented his reputation as the most successful and influential filmmaker of wildlife documentaries.

Павялічыць

Photo: John Sparks

His encounter with gorillas in the mountains of Rwanda, shown in the series, is often recognized as one of the best television moments of all time.

"In the gaze of a gorilla, there is more meaning and understanding than in any other animal I know," Attenborough told viewers, as gorillas played playfully behind him. "If there were an opportunity, by force of imagination, to cease being human and enter the world of another creature, it would be a gorilla."

Attenborough narrated all 250 episodes of the "Wildlife on One" program, and the 1978 episode about meerkats was recognized as the best television documentary of all time.

The continuation of the "Life on Earth" series was released until 2008: the last part, "Life in Cold Blood," was dedicated to reptiles.

But that doesn't mean work on documentaries stopped: the latest was released quite recently, this April. In 2011, the 85-year-old documentarian worked in front of the camera in Arctic temperatures: he hosted the "Frozen Planet" series.

"I believe the natural world is the greatest source of joy, beauty, and intellectual stimulation," he said. "It gives so much to life. It makes our lives worth living."

On May 8, Sir David's birthday, a festive ninety-minute event titled "100 Years of David Attenborough on Planet Earth" will take place at London's Royal Albert Hall, to be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer at 8:30 PM London time.

The BBC Concert Orchestra will perform music from his documentaries and series, while some of the most memorable moments from the BBC's natural history archive will be shown on screen.

• 9
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 3