D-Day! David Attenborough turns 100.

He read natural sciences at Cambridge, joined the BBC in 1952, and the rest, as they say, changed history. NerdNews looks back on an incredible life.

(The great man holds court in Australia. Courtesy Simon Baggs, Lateral Events)

(First published on my Substack where you can get #NerdNews, marvellous maths and general geekery.)

Another milestone in a colossal life.

Naturalist, TV star, global icon.

David Attenborough turns 100 on Friday.

From comfortable beginnings in an academically minded family on the campus of what is now the University of Leicester, and a fire salamander gifted to him on his 8th birthday, perhaps no one has ever told us more about the natural world than the big D.

Cutting his (massive!) teeth.

A young David was famously kept off-camera at the BBC after an internal memo declared him producer material, but…

"His teeth are too big." — Mary Adams, BBC head of Talks, 1952.

He stepped in front of the camera anyway in 1954, when Zoo Quest host Jack Lester fell ill on the eve of broadcast.

Chompers and all.

The greatest show of Earth.

Across more than a hundred documentaries since, one stands above the rest as the moment Sir David changed television forever — Life on Earth (1979).

It took three years to film at over 100 locations worldwide, with a team of 30 and more than 500 scientists.

The total budget ran north of £1 million. This was astronomical for a BBC documentary at the time.

From that incredible moment canoodling with Rwandan gorillas to Komodo dragons chasing water buffalo to the death. Kaleidoscopic birds of paradise courting and emperor penguins guarding their eggs while on freezing feet.

All given to us with his trademark "appropriate awe".

And the hits kept coming.

The Private Life of Plants. The Blue Planet. Planet Earth. Frozen Planet. World tours to sold-out halls and a passionate advocacy for science and conservation that catapulted him into the scientific stratosphere.

Alongside Stephen Hawking, perhaps the most recognised scientist of our age.

"I'm in awe of people like the great Sir David Attenborough, who look at the beauty and power of our Earth and then work to celebrate and preserve it." — Prince William, Platinum Jubilee, 2022.

A walk of fame.

Entrepreneur and event organiser Simon Baggs tells my favourite Attenborough story.

On tour with the great man in Perth, Australia, they ducked, secretively, into a bookstore, hoping to avoid attention.

But on the way out, they had no choice but to navigate around 100m of crowded public mall with a 91-year-old Sir David in tow.

Now Attenborough loves the public, and is certainly not a snooty "get these plebs away from me" type. But the reality of hundreds of well-meaning fans clamouring for a moment with a man of his advanced years is genuinely a concern.

So heads down, walk quickly, get to the car.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd spots Sir David.

But there is no rush forward. No jostling. No "can I have a selfie … please".

The man simply stands back, lets Sir David pass, and as he does, starts to applaud.

The crowded street realises what is happening.

Someone else claps. Then another.

And in moments hundreds of people have formed a protective gauntlet, thunderous in their applause, collectively saying, on behalf of all of us — thank you, Sir, for a life well lived.

They get to the car. Sir David settles into the back seat and says: "I quite enjoyed that. Shall we do it again?"

"He's a demigod, yes, but a friend first and foremost whose company I cherish." — Simon Baggs.

Feels.

In the great man's own words.

For a man who told such great stories in beautiful pictures, Sir David's legacy also brims with memorable lines. I'd be stunned if there isn't a "quote a day" calendar dedicated to him alone.

Here are five of the best from the great man.

"The whole of life is coming to terms with yourself and the natural world. Why are you here? How do you fit in? What's it all about?"

"We live our comfortable lives in the shadow of a disaster of our own making. That disaster is being brought about by the very things that allow us to live our comfortable lives."

"Nature is our biggest ally and greatest inspiration."

"I just wish the world was twice as big — and half of it was still unexplored."

So as we celebrate this milestone — at a moment where the increasing focus on artificial intelligence and the chaotic ravages of recent global politics seem to have taken our collective eye off the imminent disruption of our climate — let's end with a clarion call from the great man.

"The future of life on earth depends on our ability to take action." 

Happy 100th birthday, Sir David.

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