5 Facts You Didn't Know David Attenborough

It’s the 100th birthday of David Attenborough! A pioneer of nature documentaries and a lover of the environment, his long and illustrious career has shaped the lives of so many. So, we thought we’d celebrate this amazing milestone with some lesser-known facts about his life!

5 Facts You Didn't Know David Attenborough

Before he was a nature documentarian, he was in the Navy!

While David was studying geology and zoology at Cambridge university in 1947, he was called up for National Service. He served 2 years in the Royal Navy, stationed in North Wales and The Firth of Forth near Edinburgh.

He has a ship named after him!

The RRS Sir David Attenborough was launched in 2018 and named in honour of the brilliant work that David does for the environment. The ship is a research vessel designed for polar research and to support research teams on polar shores.

At least 20 species have been named after him, including a dinosaur!

It seems only right that a champion of environmental issues would have some species named in his honour. This includes the world’s largest-pitchered carnivorous plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii), a dragonfly called Attenborough’s pintail (Acisoma attenboroughi), and a Peruvian frog (Pristimantis attenboroughi). A dinosaur fossil from the Mesozoic period was also recategorised and renamed Attenborosaurus conybeari.

David was rejected for his first job working for the BBC

After finishing his National Service in the Navy, David took up a job editing children’s science books and later applied for a job with the BBC as a radio producer. He was rejected, but his CV was later seen by the head of factual broadcasting for the BBC’s new television service. He joined the BBC on a 3 month training course, before joining full time in 1952. At first, he was discouraged from being on air as the head of factual broadcasting thought his teeth were too big, so he worked as a producer instead. He also didn’t even own a TV at the time he was hired and had only ever seen one television show.

He was born the same year that John Logie Baird demonstrated the first television system

David Attenborough was born on 8th May 1926, the same year that John Logie Baird demonstrated the first television system to members of the Royal Institution. His system was the first to display live images in tonal colours. David was also born the year that A.A. Milne published his children’s book Winnie the Pooh, as well as the same year that Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe were born.

BONUS FACT: David hates emails and prefers to talk via post or fax machine.

So, there you go! What was your favourite David Attenborough fact? Let us know in the comments and get in touch to book an ethical animal encounter!