Brazil david attenborough biography early life

British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)

"Sir David Attenborough" redirects forth. For the Antarctic research ship, see RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; innate 8 May 1926) is clean up British broadcaster, biologist, natural student, and writer.

He is utter known for writing and proffering, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, justness nine nature documentary series assembling the Life collection, a all right survey of animal and workroom life on Earth.

Attenborough was a senior manager at honesty BBC, having served as mortal of BBC Two and vice-president of programming for BBC Exert pressure in the 1960s and Decennium.

First becoming prominent as still of Zoo Quest in 1954, his filmography as writer, innkeeper and narrator has spanned volume decades; it includes Natural World, Wildlife on One, the Planet Earth franchise, The Blue Planet and its sequel. He remains the only person to have to one`s name won BAFTA Awards in grey and white, colour, high-definition, 3D and 4K resolution.

Over her highness life he has collected heaps of honorary degrees and commendation, including three Emmy Awards disperse Outstanding Narration.

While Attenborough's originally work focused primarily on influence wonders of the natural area, his later work has antiquated more vocal in support corporeal environmental causes. He has advocated for restoring planetary biodiversity, terminal population growth, switching to renewable energy, mitigating climate change, reduction meat consumption, and setting ordain more areas for natural retention.

On his broadcasting and feeling for nature, NPR stated Attenborough "roamed the globe and collaborative his discoveries and enthusiasms catch on his patented semi-whisper way be in the region of narrating".^[2] He is widely alleged a national treasure in character UK, although he himself does not embrace the term.^[3][4][5]

Life scold family

David Frederick Attenborough was indwelling on 8 May 1926 give it some thought Isleworth, Middlesex,^[6][7] and grew shock wave in College House on magnanimity campus of the University be the owner of Leicester, where his father, Town, was principal.^[8] He is primacy middle of three sons; queen elder brother, Richard, became characteristic actor and director, and monarch younger brother, John, was clean up executive at the Italian motor manufacturer Alfa Romeo.^[9] During influence Second World War, through organized British volunteer network known importance the Refugee Children's Movement, enthrone parents also fostered two Judaic refugee girls from Germany.^[10]

Attenborough exhausted his childhood collecting fossils, stones, and natural specimens.^[11] He common encouragement when a young Jacquetta Hawkes admired his collection.^[12] Filth spent much time in probity grounds of the university.

Venerable around 11, he heard renounce the zoology department needed smart large supply of newts, which he offered through his papa to supply for 3d tell off. The source, which he plainspoken not reveal at the heart, was a pond adjacent bash into the department.^[13] A year consequent, his adoptive sister Marianne gave him a piece of yellow-brown containing prehistoric creatures; some 60 years later, it would well the focus of his strategy The Amber Time Machine.^[14]

In 1936, Attenborough and his brother Richard attended a lecture by Ashen Owl (Archibald Belaney) at Elicit Montfort Hall, Leicester, and were influenced by his advocacy noise conservation.

According to Richard, Painter was "bowled over by illustriousness man's determination to save integrity beaver, by his profound road of the flora and zoology of the Canadian wilderness challenging by his warnings of ecologic disaster should the delicate estimate between them be destroyed. Representation idea that mankind was endangering nature by recklessly despoiling paramount plundering its riches was mumbling of at the time, on the contrary it is one that has remained part of Dave's wretched credo to this day."^[15] Hut 1999, Richard directed a biopic of Belaney entitled Grey Owl.^[16]

Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Set of beliefs School for Boys in Leicester.^[17] He won a scholarship divulge Clare College, Cambridge in 1945 to study geology and biology and obtained a degree fence in natural sciences.^[18] In 1947, appease was called up for state-owned service in the Royal Fleet and spent two years stationed in North Wales and depiction Firth of Forth.^[12] In 1950, Attenborough married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel.

The couple had match up children, Robert and Susan. Jane died in 1997.^[19] Robert practical a senior lecturer in bioanthropology for the School of Anthropology and Anthropology at the Austronesian National University in Canberra.^[20][21] Susan is a former primary institute headmistress.^[17]

Attenborough had a pacemaker appointed in June 2013 as spasm as a double knee substitute in 2015.^[22] In September 2013, he commented: "If I was earning my money by hewing coal I would be extremely glad indeed to stop.

On the other hand I'm not. I'm swanning padding the world looking at picture most fabulously interesting things. Much good fortune."^[23]

Career

Early years at birth BBC

After leaving the navy, Attenborough took a position editing apprentice science textbooks for a statement company. He soon became tolerant with the work and coach in 1950 applied for a helpful as a radio talk manufacturer with the BBC.^[24] Although loosen up was rejected for this work, his CV later attracted probity interest of Mary Adams, belief of the Talks (factual broadcasting) department of the BBC's puppy television service.^[25] Attenborough, like governing Britons at that time, blunt not own a television, courier he had seen only look after programme in his life.^[26]

He pitch Adams' offer of a three-month training course.

In 1952 subside joined the BBC full-time. At the outset discouraged from appearing on camera because Adams thought his traumatize were too big,^[24] he became a producer for the Dialogue department, which handled all non-fiction broadcasts. His early projects facade the quiz show Animal, Produce, Mineral? and Song Hunter, spruce up series about folk music debonair by Alan Lomax.^[24]

Attenborough's association better natural history programmes began as he produced and presented authority three-part series Animal Patterns. Justness studio-bound programme featured animals elude London Zoo, with the conservationist Julian Huxley discussing their emit of camouflage, aposematism and entreaty displays.

Through this programme, Attenborough met Jack Lester, the custodian of the zoo's reptile residence, and they decided to set up a series about an animal-collecting expedition. The result was Zoo Quest, first broadcast in 1954, where Attenborough became the landlord at short notice due conjoin Lester being taken ill.^[27]

In 1957, the BBC Natural History Section was formally established in Port.

Attenborough was asked to combine it, but declined, not yearning to move from London locale he and his young descendants were settled. Instead, he familiar his own department, the Expeditions and Exploration Unit,^[28] which legal him to continue to facade Zoo Quest as well significance produce other documentaries, notably influence Travellers' Tales and Adventure series.^[28] In the early 1960s, Attenborough resigned from the permanent pikestaff of the BBC to recite for a postgraduate degree dynasty social anthropology at the Author School of Economics, interweaving monarch study with further filming.^[29] In spite of that, he accepted an invitation consent return to the BBC trade in controller of BBC Two once he could finish the degree.^[30]

BBC administration

Attenborough became Controller of BBC Two in March 1965, consecutive Michael Peacock.^[31] He had fastidious clause inserted in his procure that would allow him promote to continue making programmes on deal with occasional basis.

Later the corresponding year he filmed elephants tab Tanzania, and in 1969 noteworthy made a three-part series formerly the cultural history of integrity Indonesian island of Bali. Recognize the value of the 1971 film A Adamant on the Map, he coupled the first Western expedition suck up to a remote highland valley fuse New Guinea to seek make dry a lost tribe.^[32]

BBC Two was launched in 1964, but locked away struggled to capture the public's imagination.

When Attenborough arrived orangutan controller, he quickly abolished integrity channel's quirky kangaroo mascot become more intense shook up the schedule. Accommodate a mission to make BBC Two's output diverse and opposite from that offered by carefulness networks, he began to fix a portfolio of programmes mosey defined the channel's identity rationalize decades to come.

Under sovereign tenure, music, the arts, diversion, archaeology, experimental comedy, travel, stage show, sport, business, science and unaffected history all found a clench in the weekly schedules. Commonly, an eclectic mix was offered within a single evening's commentary. Programmes he commissioned included Man Alive, Call My Bluff, Chronicle, Match of the Day, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Monty Python's Flying Circus and The Money Programme.^[33] With the disclosure of colour television, Attenborough the oldest profession snooker to the BBC harm show the benefits of decency format, as the sport uses coloured balls.^[34] The show – Pot Black – was consequent credited with the boom signal your intention the sport into the 1980s.^[35]

One of his most significant decisions was to order a 13-part series on the history lecture Western art, to show nausea the quality of the newborn UHF colour television service become absent-minded BBC Two offered.

Broadcast dirty universal acclaim in 1969, Civilisation set the blueprint for manage authored documentaries, which were conversationally known as "sledgehammer" projects.^[36][37] Nakedness followed, including Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man (also endorsed by Attenborough), and Alistair Cooke's America.

Attenborough thought that grandeur story of evolution would affront a natural subject for specified a series. He shared her majesty idea with Christopher Parsons, out producer at the Natural Legend Unit, who came up board a title Life on Earth and returned to Bristol appoint start planning the series. Attenborough harboured a strong desire finish present the series himself, nevertheless this would not be conceivable so long as he remained in a management post.^[38]

While fasten charge of BBC Two, Attenborough turned down Terry Wogan's employment application to be a donor on the channel, stating think it over there weren't any suitable vacancies.

The channel already had wholesome Irish announcer, with Attenborough getting ready in 2016: "To have locked away two Irishmen presenting on BBC Two would have looked not bright. This is no comment humanly on Terry Wogan's talents."^[39] Attenborough has also acknowledged that smartness sanctioned the wiping of horde output during this period turn into cut costs, including a leanto by Alan Bennett, which perform later regretted.^[40]

In 1969, Attenborough was promoted to director of programmes, making him responsible for excellence output of both BBC channels.^[41] His tasks, which included in complete accord budgets, attending board meetings vital firing staff, were now backwoods removed from the business invite filming programmes.

When Attenborough's label was being suggested as span candidate for the position avail yourself of Director-General of the BBC press 1972, he phoned his religious Richard to confess that dirt had no appetite for birth job. Early the following epoch, he left his post hype return to full-time programme-making, dying him free to write captain present the planned natural features epic.^[11]

After his resignation, Attenborough became a freelance broadcaster and afoot work on his next layout, a trip to Indonesia converge a crew from the Commonplace History Unit.

It resulted trudge the 1973 series Eastwards tweak Attenborough, which was similar impossible to differentiate tone to the earlier Zoo Quest; the main difference was the introduction of colour. Attenborough stated that he wanted extremity work in Asia, because past nature documentaries had mostly conscientious on Africa.^[42] That year, Attenborough was invited to deliver leadership Royal Institution Christmas Lecture portion The Language of Animals.^[43] Pinpoint his work on Eastwards confront Attenborough, he began to job on the scripts for Life on Earth.^[44]

Due to the register of his ambition, the BBC decided to partner with block off American network to secure representation necessary funding.

While the dealer were proceeding, he worked earlier a number of other idiot box projects. He presented a pile on tribal art (The Racial Eye, 1975) and another superlative the voyages of discovery (The Explorers, 1975).^[44] He presented uncut BBC children's series about cryptozoology entitled Fabulous Animals (1975), which featured mythical creatures such orangutan mermaids and unicorns.^[45] Eventually, loftiness BBC signed a co-production tie with Turner Broadcasting and Life on Earth moved into fabrication in 1976.^[46] In 1979, fiasco visited China and reported get at the West for the greatest time about China's one-child policy.^[47]

Life series

See also: The Life Collection

Beginning with Life on Earth interior 1979, Attenborough set about creating a body of work which became a benchmark of respectable in wildlife film-making, and assumed a generation of documentary film-makers.

The series established many gradient the hallmarks of the BBC's natural history output. By treating his subject seriously and unpalatable the latest discoveries, Attenborough prep added to his production team gained honesty trust of scientists, who responded by allowing him to naked truth their subjects in his programmes.^[48]

Innovation was another factor in Life on Earth's success: new film-making techniques were devised to invest in the shots Attenborough wanted, stay alive a focus on events challenging animals that were up break ground then unfilmed.

International air ramble enabled the series to capability devised so that Attenborough visited several locations around the terra in each episode, sometimes plane changing continents in one twine chain. Although appearing as the on-screen presenter, he restricted his offend on camera to give further time to his subjects.^[49]

Five life after the success of Life on Earth, the BBC on the rampage The Living Planet.

This spell, Attenborough built his series children the theme of ecology, say publicly adaptations of living things unobtrusively their environment. It was added critical and commercial success, generating huge international sales for character BBC. In 1990, The Trials of Life completed the basic Life trilogy, looking at creature behaviour through the different judgment of life.^[51]

In the 1990s, Attenborough continued to use the "Life" title for a succession shambles authored documentaries.

In 1993, loosen up presented Life in the Freezer, the first television series be survey the natural history behoove Antarctica. Although past normal emptiness age, he then embarked deal a number of more technical surveys of the natural environment, beginning with plants. They trusty a difficult subject for reward producers, who had to leaflet hours of television featuring what are essentially immobile objects.

Authority result was The Private Come alive of Plants (1995), which showed plants as dynamic organisms descendant using time-lapse photography to rush up their growth, and went on to earn a Pedagogue Award.^[52]

Prompted by an enthusiastic zoologist at the BBC Natural Account Unit, Attenborough then turned cap attention to birds.

As subside was neither a birdwatcher blurry a bird expert, he confident he was better qualified lengthen make The Life of Birds (1998) on the theme get the picture behaviour. The documentary series won a second Peabody Award influence following year.^[53] The order fairhaired the remaining "Life" series was dictated by developments in camera technology.

For The Life mention Mammals (2002), low-light and oftenness cameras were deployed to let on the behaviour of nocturnal mammals. The series contains a release of memorable two shots attack Attenborough and his subjects, which included chimpanzees, a blue dig up and a grizzly bear. Advances in macro photography made something to do possible to capture the unusual behaviour of very small creatures for the first time, title in 2005, Life in nobility Undergrowth introduced audiences to excellence world of invertebrates.^[54]

At this theatre, Attenborough realised that he abstruse spent 20 years unconsciously formation a collection of programmes give in to all the major groups expend terrestrial animals and plants – only reptiles and amphibians were missing.

When Life in Keen Blood was broadcast in 2008, he had the satisfaction appreciate completing the set, brought packed in in a DVD encyclopaedia denominated Life on Land. He commented: "The evolutionary history is terminated. The endeavour is complete. Theorize you'd asked me 20 lifetime ago whether we'd be attempting such a mammoth task, I'd have said 'Don't be ridiculous!' These programmes tell a special story and I'm sure excess will come along and recount it much better than Uncontrolled did, but I do long that if people watch curtail in 50 years' time, put on the right track will still have something fully say about the world phenomenon live in."^[55]

However, in 2010 Attenborough asserted that his First Life – dealing with evolutionary representation before Life on Earth – should be included within say publicly "Life" series.

In the movie Attenborough's Journey, he stated, "This series, to a degree which I really didn't fully apprehend until I started working store it, really completes the set."^[56]

Beyond Life on Earth

Alongside the Life series, Attenborough continued to enquiry on other television documentaries, above all in the natural history schoolroom.

He wrote and presented a- series on man's influence indict the natural history of description Mediterranean Basin, The First Eden, in 1987. Two years afterward, he demonstrated his passion cooperation fossils in Lost Worlds, Missing Lives.^[57] In 1990, he struck on the BBC's Prisoners well Conscience series where he highlighted the case of the African poet Mahjoub Sharif.^[58]

Attenborough narrated now and then episode of Wildlife on One, a BBC One wildlife leanto that ran for 253 episodes between 1977 and 2005.

Cram its peak, it drew exceptional weekly audience of eight count up ten million, and the 1987 episode "Meerkats United" was ideal the best wildlife documentary walk up to all time by BBC viewers.^[59] He has narrated over 50 episodes of Natural World, BBC Two's flagship wildlife series. Tutor forerunner, The World About Us, was created by Attenborough spartan 1969, as a vehicle hope against hope colour television.^[60] In 1997, explicit narrated the BBC Wildlife Specials, each focussing on a magnetic species, and screened to have reservations about the Natural History Unit's Ordinal anniversary.^[61]

As a writer and author, Attenborough continued to collaborate collect the BBC Natural History Constituent in the new millennium.

Alastair Fothergill, a senior producer butt whom Attenborough had worked silhouette The Trials of Life sit Life in the Freezer, was making The Blue Planet (2001), the Unit's first comprehensive array on marine life.^[62] He settled not to use an on-screen presenter due to difficulties tear speaking to a camera knock together diving apparatus, but asked Attenborough to narrate the films.

High-mindedness same team reunited for Planet Earth (2006), the biggest disposition documentary ever made for mash and the first BBC flora and fauna series to be shot unimportant person high definition.^[63]

In 2009, Attenborough co-wrote and narrated Life, a ten-part series focussing on extraordinary creature behaviour,^[64] and narrated Nature's Ready to step in Events, which showed how discontinuous changes trigger major natural spectacles.^[65] In January 2009, the BBC commissioned Attenborough to provide clean series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of quality.

Entitled David Attenborough's Life Stories, they were broadcast on Wireless 4 on Friday nights.^[66]

In 2011, Fothergill gave Attenborough a supplementary prominent role in Frozen Planet, a major series on picture natural history of the extreme regions; Attenborough appeared on comb and authored the final incident, in addition to performing voiceover duties.

Attenborough introduced and narrated the Unit's first 4K control Life Story. For Planet Con II (2016), Attenborough returned variety narrator and presenter, with probity main theme music composed impervious to Hans Zimmer.^[67][68]

In October 2014, say publicly corporation announced a trio carry-on new one-off Attenborough documentaries significance part of a raft go in for new natural history programmes.

"Attenborough's Paradise Birds" and "Attenborough's Bulky Birds" was shown on BBC Two and "Waking Giants", which follows the discovery of towering absurd dinosaur bones in South U.s.a., aired on BBC One.^[69] Representation BBC also commissioned Atlantic Writings actions to make a three-part, Attenborough-fronted series Great Barrier Reef play a part 2015.

The series marked blue blood the gentry 10th project for Attenborough arm Atlantic, and saw him recurring to a location he good cheer filmed at in 1957.^[70][71]

On receiver, Attenborough has continued as suggestion of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's Tweet of honourableness Day, which began a especially series in September 2014.^[72] Attenborough forged a partnership with Hope, working on documentaries for depiction broadcaster's new 3D network, Dark 3D.

Their first collaboration was Flying Monsters 3D, a skin about pterosaurs which debuted article Christmas Day of 2010.^[73] Great second film, The Penguin Broadminded 3D, followed a year late. His next 3D project, Conquest of the Skies, made provoke the team behind the BAFTA award-winning David Attenborough's Natural Narration Museum Alive, aired on Indistinct 3D during Christmas 2014.^[74]

Attenborough has narrated three series of David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities for UKTV channel Watch, with the base series showing in 2015.

Do something has also narrated A illustrious celebration: Wild Karnataka, India's culminating blue-chip natural history film, fated by Kalyan Varma and Amoghavarsha.^[75]Blue Planet II was broadcast razor-sharp 2017, with Attenborough returning chimp presenter.^[76] The series was severely acclaimed and gained the chief UK viewing figure for 2017 of 14.1 million.^[77][78] The series abridge thought to have triggered well-organized long-lasting increase in public, publicity and political attention to elastic pollution.^[79][80] Attenborough narrated the 2018 five-part series Dynasties, each leaf dealing with one species monitor particular.^[81][82] In 2021, he tingle the three-part series Attenborough's Step in Colour,^[83] and The Marvellous Game, a five-part series.^[84]

Attenborough joint to prehistoric life with Dinosaurs: The Final Day and Prehistoric Planet aired in April splendid May 2022 respectively.

Environmentalist advocacy

By the turn of the millenary, Attenborough's authored documentaries were adopting a more overtly environmentalist attitude. In State of the Planet (2000), he used the original scientific evidence and interviews inspect leading scientists and conservationists run on assess the impact of android activities on the natural artificial.

He later turned to greatness issues of global warming (The Truth about Climate Change, 2006) and human population growth (How Many People Can Live disrupt Planet Earth?, 2009). He discretionary a programme which highlighted grandeur plight of endangered species lend your energies to the BBC's Saving Planet Earth project in 2007, the Ordinal anniversary of the Natural Anecdote Unit.^[85][86]

In 2019, Attenborough narrated Our Planet, an eight-part documentary tilt, for Netflix.^[87] In contrast put the finishing touches to much of his prior crack for the BBC, this pile emphasised the destructive role fine human activities throughout the rooms.

Before, he would often keep details concerns in a final spell of the work. He additionally narrated Wild Karnataka, a flick about the Karnataka forest area.^[89] In 2019, Attenborough's one-off husk documentary about climate change lack BBC One called Climate Banter – The Facts was aired; the tone of the film was significantly graver than sometime work for the BBC.^[90][91] That was followed by Extinction: High-mindedness Facts, which is partly homeproduced on the 2019 IPBESreport puzzlement the decline of biodiversity.^[92][93]

In 2020, Attenborough narrated the documentary ep David Attenborough: A Life shot Our Planet.

The film know-how as Attenborough's witness statement, drawing up on his career as natty naturalist and his hopes solution the future.^[94] It was movable on Netflix on 4 Oct 2020.^[95] Further work for Netflix includes the documentary titled Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Speech Planet, released on 4 June 2021.^[96] In October 2020, Attenborough began filming in Cambridge disperse The Green Planet.^[97] In 2021, Attenborough narrated A Perfect Planet, a five-part earth science stack for BBC One.^[98]

Attenborough was swell key figure in the attention to the 2021 United Handouts Climate Change Conference (COP26), president gave a speech at influence opening ceremony.^[99] In his sales pitch he stated that humans were "the greatest problem solvers look after have ever existed on Earth" and spoke of his welcome for the future, finishing building block saying "In my lifetime I've witnessed a terrible decline.

Splotch yours, you could and requisite witness a wonderful recovery."^[100]

In 2022, the United Nations Environment Agricultural show recognised Attenborough as a Warrior of the Earth "for rulership dedication to research, documentation, don advocacy for the protection break into nature and its restoration".^[101][102]

Views take advocacy

Environment

Attenborough's programmes have often deception references to the impact magnetize human society on the hollow world.

The last episode make out The Living Planet, for occasion, focuses almost entirely on humans' destruction of the environment nearby ways that it could write down stopped or reversed. Despite that, he has been criticised provision not giving enough prominence denigration environmental messages. In 2018 exhaustively promoting Dynasties, he said turn this way repeated messages on threats join wildlife in programming could verbal abuse a "turn-off" to viewers.^[103]

Some environmentalists feel that programmes like Attenborough's give a false picture tip idyllic wilderness and do weep do enough to acknowledge dump such areas are increasingly encroached upon by humans.^{[104][105][106][107]} However, significance increased urgency of environmental messaging in films such as Extinction: The Facts, which depicts magnanimity continuing sixth mass extinction,^[108]Climate Alternate – The Facts and A Life on Our Planet stranger 2019 and 2020 received praise.^{[109][110][111][112]} In Seven Worlds, One Planet, Attenborough discusses the devastating outcome that deforestation is having surfeit the planet and the species.^[113]

In 2005 and 2006, Attenborough supported a BirdLife International project fight back stop the killing of impediment by longline fishing boats.^[114] Subside gave support to WWF's holy war to have 220,000 square kilometres embodiment Borneo's rainforest designated a sheltered area.^[115] He serves as dialect trig vice-president of The Conservation Volunteers,^[116] vice-president of Fauna and Aggregation International,^[117] president of Butterfly Conservation^[118] and president emeritus of Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust.^[119]

In 2003, Attenborough launched an appeal checking account behalf of the World Tedious Trust to create a tropical forest reserve in Ecuador in remembrance of Christopher Parsons, the maker of Life on Earth elitist a personal friend, who esoteric died the previous year.^[120] Magnanimity same year, he helped match launch ARKive,^[121] a global obligation instigated by Parsons to supplement together natural history media dissect a digital library.

ARKive evolution an initiative of Wildscreen, expend which Attenborough is a patron.^[122] He later became patron ad infinitum the World Land Trust. Problem 2020, he backed a Creature and Flora International campaign vocation for a global moratorium debate deep sea mining for warmth impact on marine life.^[123]

During primacy COVID-19 pandemic, Attenborough advocated coarse behalf of the Zoological The public of London (ZSL) and professor conservation efforts, which have antediluvian impacted by the economic upshot from the pandemic.^[124] In 2020, Attenborough was named as fine member of the Earthshot cherish Council,^[125] an initiative of Sovereign William to find solutions give explanation environmental issues.^[126][127] He is put in order patron of the Friends loom Richmond Park and serves fear the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine.^[128]

Attenborough was initially leery about the human influence acquiesce climate change, and stated walk a 2004 lecture finally certain him humans were responsible.

Prohibited remained silent on the sprint until 2006.^[129][130] Attenborough attended cranium spoke at COP26 as description "People's Advocate" for the stymie, and urged world leaders misinform act to reduce emissions.^[131][132] Of course supported Glyndebourne in their in force application to obtain planning grandeur for a wind turbine impossible to differentiate an Area of Outstanding Spiritual guide Beauty, and gave evidence combination the planning inquiry arguing huddle together favour of the proposal.^[133] Increase his 2020 documentary film David Attenborough: A Life On After everything else Planet, Attenborough advocates for community to adopt a vegetarian food intake or to reduce meat uptake to save wildlife, noting dump "the planet can't support make of meat-eaters."^[134]

Human population

Attenborough has mutual anthropogenic effects on the atmosphere with human population growth.^{[135][136][137]} Earth has attracted criticism for monarch views on human overpopulation^[138] settle down human population control.^[139] He silt a patron of Population Matters,^[140] a UK charity advocating pick family planning, sustainable consumption near proposed sustainable human population.^[141][142] Stress a 2013 interview with primacy Radio Times, Attenborough described citizens as a "plague on excellence Earth",^[143][144] and described the domesticated of sending food to famine-stricken countries as "barmy" for the community reasons.^[139][145] He called for addition debate about human population growth,^[139] saying that since he "first started making programmes 60 length of existence ago, the human population has tripled."^[146]

According to Attenborough, improving women's rights around the world comment an effective way "to border our birth rate."^[147] He supposed that "anyone who thinks stroll you can have infinite production in a finite environment critique either a madman or interrupt economist."^[147]

Religious views

Attenborough considers himself effect agnostic.^[148] When asked whether fillet observation of the natural universe has given him faith spiky a creator, he generally responds with some version of that story, making reference to honesty Onchocerca volvulus parasitic worm:

My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating now and then individual species as a be fit act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and lovely things.

But I tend rap over the knuckles think instead of a leechlike worm that is boring give the brushoff the eye of a salad days sitting on the bank tip off a river in West Continent, [a worm] that's going keep make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you forceful me that the God give orders believe in, who you as well say is an all-merciful Spirit, who cares for each lone of us individually, are restore confidence saying that God created that worm that can live check no other way than utilize an innocent child's eyeball?

Due to that doesn't seem to heart to coincide with a Spirit who's full of mercy'.^[149]

He has explained that he feels class evidence all over the orb clearly shows evolution to remark the best way to become known the diversity of life, extract that "as far as [he's] concerned, if there is regular supreme being then he chose organic evolution as a turn of bringing into existence honesty natural world".

In a BBC Four interview with Mark Lawson, he was asked if loosen up at any time had inferior religious faith. He replied unaffectedly, "no".^[150] He said "It under no circumstances really occurred to me holiday at believe in God".^[151]

In 2002, Attenborough joined an effort by hero clerics and scientists to withstand the inclusion of creationism encompass the curriculum of UK state-funded independent schools which receive covert sponsorship, such as the Emmanuel Schools Foundation.^[152] In 2009, illegal stated that the Book get ahead Genesis, by saying that rendering world was there for folks to control, had taught generations that they can "dominate" rendering environment, and that this has resulted in the devastation get a hold vast areas of the conditions.

He further explained to goodness science journal Nature, "That's ground Darwinism, and the fact place evolution, is of great value, because it is that status which has led to nobleness devastation of so much, become more intense we are in the setting that we are in".^[153]

Also advocate early 2009, the BBC put out an Attenborough one-hour special, Charles Darwin and the Tree show Life.

In reference to depiction programme, Attenborough stated that "People write to me that replacement is only a theory. Be a success, it is not a speculation. Evolution is as solid on the rocks historical fact as you could conceive. Evidence from every cubicle. What is a theory practical whether natural selection is justness mechanism and the only appliance.

That is a theory. However the historical reality that dinosaurs led to birds and mammals produced whales, that's not theory."^[154] He strongly opposes creationism avoid its offshoot "intelligent design", locution that the results of uncut survey that found a ninety days of science teachers in allege schools believe that creationism be compelled be taught alongside evolution dainty science lessons was "really terrible".^[154]

In March 2009, Attenborough appeared revitalize Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

Attenborough stated that he mat evolution did not rule flood the existence of a Immortal and accepted the title party agnostic saying, "My view is: I don't know one shyness or the other but Frantic don't think that evolution problem against a belief in God".^[155]

Attenborough has joined the evolutionary scientist Richard Dawkins and other acme scientists in signing a initiative statement co-ordinated by the Island Humanist Association (BHA).

The fees calls for "creationism to nominate banned from the school principles curriculum and for evolution nominate be taught more widely close in schools".^[156]

BBC and public service broadcasting

Attenborough is a lifelong supporter competition the BBC, public service communication and the television licence.

Bankruptcy has said that public utility broadcasting "is one of picture things that distinguishes this homeland and makes me want finish off live here",^[157] and believes turn it is not reducible grasp individual programmes, but "can exclusive effectively operate as a road [...] that measures its good fortune not only by its introduction size but by the empty of its schedule".^[158]

...

the BBC per minute in almost now and then category is as cheap likewise you can find anywhere featureless the world and produces authority best quality. [...] The BBC has gone through swingeing baton cuts. It has been case to the bone, if prickly divert licence fee money away, you cut quality and mending. [...] There is a inscribe of people who want round on see the BBC weakened.

They talk of this terrible fee of the licence fee. Much it is the best compromise that is going. Four beam channels and god knows no matter how many TV channels. It report piffling.^[157]

Attenborough expressed the view meander there had often been folks wanting to remove the BBC, adding "there's always been affair about the licence and in case you dropped your guard on your toes could bet our bottom greenback there'd be plenty of general public who'd want to take square away.

The licence fee decay the basis on which representation BBC is based and on the assumption that you destroy it, broadcasting... becomes a wasteland."^[159] He expressed lament at some of the waverings made to the BBC attach the 1990s by its director-general, John Birt, who introduced create internal market at the house, slimmed and closed some departments and outsourced much of integrity corporation's output to private arrange companies.^[160]

Although he said Birt's policies had poor results, Attenborough as well acknowledged "the BBC had homily change."^[160][161] In 2008, he criticised the BBC's television schedules, positing that the two senior networks, BBC One and BBC Couple – which Attenborough stated were "first set up as fastidious partnership" – now "schedule in the twinkling of an eye programmes of identical character, thereby contradicting the very reason cruise the BBC was given great second network."^[158]

Politics

In 1998, Attenborough asserted himself as "a standard, monotonous left-wing liberal" and expressed ethics view that the market restraint was "misery".^[160] In 2013, Attenborough joined the rock guitarists Brian May and Slash in hostile the government's policy on justness cull of badgers in glory UK by participating in practised song dedicated to badgers.^[162] Attenborough was one of 200 be revealed figures who were signatories tell the difference a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain faculty of the United Kingdom girder the 2014 referendum on go issue.^[163] Prior to the 2015 UK general election, Attenborough was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy fall foul of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas.^[164]

In a 2020 interview, Attenborough criticised excess capitalism as a operative of ecological imbalance, stating "the excesses the capitalist system has brought us, have got conceal be curbed somehow", and stroll "greed does not actually usher to joy", although he another "That doesn't mean to regulation that capitalism is dead".^[165] Why not?

also lamented the lack take up international cooperation on climate have emotional impact, and said "there should aptly no dominant nation on that planet."^[166] In 2021, Attenborough rich the leaders of the Ordinal G7 summit that "tackling off-colour change was now as unwarranted a political challenge as level with was a scientific or polytechnic one" and urged for bonus action.^[167] Attenborough also stated digress "(we) are on the bank of destabilising the entire planet."^[168]

In 2023, Attenborough was described wedge the New Statesman as dinky figure "invaluable to green diplomacy" in the UK, placing him twenty-third in their list unmoving Britain's most powerful left-wing tally, above many elected politicians.^[169]

Achievements, glory and recognition

Attenborough's contribution to disclosure and wildlife film-making has humble him international recognition.

He has been called "the great communicator, the peerless educator"^[170] and "the greatest broadcaster of our time."^[154] His programmes are often empty as an example of what public service broadcasting should hide, even by critics of righteousness BBC, and have influenced out generation of wildlife film-makers.^[171]

Honorary titles

By January 2013, Attenborough had sedate 32 honorary degrees from Brits universities,^[172] more than any nook person.^[173][174] In 1980, he was honoured by the Open Lincoln, with which he has difficult to understand a close association throughout fillet career.

He has honorary General practitioner of Science degrees from City University (1982)^[175] and the Institute of Cambridge (1984)^[176] and optional Doctor of Philosophy degrees be bereaved the University of Oxford (1988)^[176] and the University of Ghent (1997).^[177]

In 2006, the two issue Attenborough brothers returned to their home city to receive illustriousness title of Distinguished Honorary Members belonging of the University of Metropolis, "in recognition of a cloakanddagger of continuing distinguished service explicate the University."^[178] David Attenborough was previously awarded an honorary Gp of Letters degree by illustriousness university in 1970, and was made an honorary Freeman honor the City of Leicester hem in 1990.

In 2013, he was made an Honorary Freeman provide the City of Bristol.^[179] Interject 2010, he was awarded Nominal Doctorates from Nelson Mandela Urban University and Nottingham Trent University.^[180][181]

Attenborough has received the title Nominal Fellow from Clare College, Metropolis (1980),^[182] the Zoological Society in shape London (1998),^[183] the Linnean Companionship (1999),^[184] the Institute of Accumulation (Now the Royal Society regard Biology) (2000),^[185] and the Glee club of Antiquaries (2007).

He recapitulate Honorary Patron of the Northern American Native Plant Society^[186] wallet was elected as a Identical Member of the Australian Establishment of Science.^[187]

Recognition

Attenborough has been featured as the subject of unembellished number of BBC television programmes.

Life on Air (2002) examined the legacy of his labour, and Attenborough the Controller (2002) focused on his time mop the floor with charge of BBC Two. Smartness was also featured prominently footpath The Way We Went Wild (2004), a series about empty history television presenters, and 100 Years of Wildlife Films (2007), a programme marking the anniversary of the nature documentary.

Coop 2006, British television viewers were asked to vote for their Favourite Attenborough Moments for marvellous UKTV poll to coincide and the broadcaster's 80th birthday. Justness winning clip showed Attenborough monitor the mimicry skills of excellence superb lyrebird.^[188]

Attenborough was named significance most trusted celebrity in decency UK in a 2006 Reader's Digest poll,^[189] and in 2007 he won The Culture Show's Living Icon Award.^[190] He has been named among the Centred Greatest Britons in a 2002 BBC poll and is pooled of the top ten "Heroes of Our Time" according give somebody no option but to New Statesman magazine.^[191] In Sep 2009, London's Natural History Museum opened the Attenborough Studio, close of its Darwin Centre development.^[192]

In 2012, Attenborough was among nobleness British cultural icons selected insensitive to artist Sir Peter Blake endure appear in a new history of his most famous water down – the Beatles' Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band autograph album cover – to celebrate influence British cultural figures of fulfil life.^[193] The same year, Attenborough featured in the BBC Wireless 4 series The New Elizabethans to mark the diamond Gala of Queen Elizabeth II. Uncluttered panel of seven academics, thrust and historians named him centre of the group of people esteem the UK "whose actions all along the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant striking on lives in these islands".^[194]

A British polar research ship was named RRS Sir David Attenborough in his honour.

While inspiration Internet poll suggesting the term of the ship had leadership most votes for Boaty McBoatface, the science minister Jo Author said there were "more apt names", and the official honour was eventually picked up be different one of the other very favoured choices. However, one near its research sub-sea vehicles was named "Boaty" in recognition be totally convinced by the public vote.^[195]

Attenborough is extremely recognised by Guinness World Records as having the longest continuance as a natural historian boss presenter in television.^[196]

Species named stern Attenborough

Main article: List of effects named after David Attenborough turf his works § Taxonomy

At least 20 species and genera, both extant and extinct, have been person's name in Attenborough's honour.^[197] Plants dubbed after him include an highland hawkweed (Hieracium attenboroughianum) discovered fasten the Brecon Beacons,^[198] a character of Ecuadorian flowering tree (Blakea attenboroughi), one of the world's largest-pitchered carnivorous plants (Nepenthes attenboroughii), along with a genus counterfeit flowering plants (Sirdavidia).^[199]

Several arthropods disadvantage named after Attenborough, including excellent butterfly, Attenborough's black-eyed satyr (Euptychia attenboroughi),^[200] a dragonfly, Attenborough's duck (Acisoma attenboroughi),^[201] a millimetre-long imp spider (Prethopalpus attenboroughi), an cloying Caribbean smiley-faced spider (Spintharus davidattenboroughi),^[202][203] an Indonesian flightless weevil (Trigonopterus attenboroughi),^[204][205] a Madagascan ghost midget (Ctenocheloides attenboroughi), and a begrime snail (Palaina attenboroughi).^[206]

The MonogeneanCichlidogyrus attenboroughi, a parasite from a deep-sea fish in Lake Tanganyika, may well be the only parasitic character named after him.^[207] Several vertebrates have also been named rear 1 Attenborough, including a Namibian gigolo (Platysaurus attenboroughi),^[208] a bird (Polioptila attenboroughi),^[208] a Peruvian frog (Pristimantis attenboroughi),^[209] a Madagascan stump-toed batrachian (Stumpffia davidattenboroughi),^[210] and one always only four species of anteater (Zaglossus attenboroughi).^[211]

In 1993, after discovering that the Mesozoic reptile Plesiosaurus conybeari did not belong shape the genus Plesiosaurus, the paleontologist Robert Bakker renamed the character Attenborosaurus conybeari.^[212] A fossilised rangible fish discovered in Western State in 2008 was named Materpiscis attenboroughi, after Attenborough had filmed at the site and highlighted its scientific importance in Life on Earth.

The Materpiscis dodo is believed to be say publicly earliest organism capable of countrywide fertilisation.^[213]

In 2015, a species break into tree from Gabon (in say publicly Annonaceae family) SirdavidiaCouvreur & Sauquet was named with his title.^[214]

A miniature marsupial lion, Microleo attenboroughi, was named in his probity in 2016.^[215][216] The fossil hopper Electrotettix attenboroughi was named funds Attenborough.

In March 2017, expert 430 million year old tiny crustaceous was named after him. Commanded Cascolus ravitis, the first discussion is a Latin translation bring in the root meaning of "Attenborough", and the second is family unit on a description of him in Latin.^[217][218] In July 2017, the Caribbean bat Myotis attenboroughi was named after him.^[219] Straighten up new species of fan-throated gigolo from coastal Kerala in grey India was named Sitana attenboroughii in his honour when say yes was described in 2018.^[220]

In 2018, a new species of phytoplankton, Syracosphaera azureaplaneta, was named flesh out honour The Blue Planet, high-mindedness TV documentary presented by Attenborough, and to recognise his endeavor to promoting understanding of honourableness oceanic environment.^[221] The same yr, Attenborough was also commemorated interest the name of the scarabaeus beetle Sylvicanthon attenboroughi.^[222]

In 2020, Nothobranchius attenboroughi, a brightly coloured cyclical fish species was described confine his honour.

This species bash endemic to Tanzania and radiance is known from ephemeral pools and marshes associated with distinction Grumeti River and other mignonne systems draining into Lake Town at the east side go the lake, largely within illustriousness Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The small on-again-off-again fish inhabit ephemeral habitats wrench freshwater wetlands and have at the end life-history adaptations, having an reference life cycle, a key change to reproduce in the seasonally arid savannah biome and granted the eggs to survive distinction periodic drying up of goodness seasonal natural habitats.^[223]

In 2021 type extinct species of horseshoe grump was named Attenborolimulus superspinosus.^[224][225] In July 2022, a stick-in-the-mud of a 560-million-year-old creature given name Auroralumina attenboroughii, which researchers have confidence in to be the first beast predator, was named after Attenborough.^[226]

Awards