Legendary British broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough turns 90 today, May 8th.
He first appeared on BBC TV over 60 years ago in Zoo Quest (1954-63) before going onto define the genre of Wildlife Documentary with an array of groundbreaking shows.
Attenborough is best known for writing and presenting the nine Life series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on the planet.
He is also a former senior manager at the BBC, having served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programmes filmed in in four different formats: black and white, colour, HD, and 3D.
In 2002 he was named among the 100 Greatest Britons following a UK-wide vote. He is the younger brother of director, producer and actor Richard Attenborough, and older brother of motor executive John Attenborough, both of whom are deceased.
Among the many people congratulating him on reaching his 90th birthday were fellow British broadcasters Kirsty Young and Melvyn Bragg.
"I first met David when he appeared on our 70th birthday special of Desert Island Discs in 2012," Young recalls. "An accomplished pianist - even if he won’t admit it - he chose a lot of beautiful music: there was certainly no death metal involved.
"Afterwards, we sat in the control room for an hour just shooting the breeze. I really had to pinch myself because he’s a complete one-off: he has a rock star presence - and I’ve interviewed Keith Richards - yet is totally down to earth and one of the gang.
"These words are overused these days, but when it comes to David, the superlatives just roll off your tongue - he’s extraordinary, and has forgotten more in his life than any of us will ever know about the natural world.
"I once asked him how he deals with all the adulation. He said, 'I rationalise it by knowing that the goodwill and love people have for me and my programmes is spread among every person it takes to make them. I’m the conduit for it, but that’s it.'"
Melvyn Bragg said: "I can’t remember a dull conversation with him; just genuine enthusiasm about any topic that came up. He’s unafraid to say things like 'beats me'.
"And my favourite memory is his smile - gentle, rather shy, I suppose rather English, but very warm."
Here's the BBC News tribute to the Birthday Boy:
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