David Attenborough
FRSGS FRSB | |
---|---|
Born | David Frederick Attenborough 8 May 1926 , Middlesex, England |
Education | |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1951–present |
Title |
|
Spouse |
Jane Ebsworth Oriel
(m. 1950; died 1997) |
Children | 2 |
Parent |
|
Relatives |
|
Awards |
|
Signature | |
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (
Attenborough was a
While Attenborough's earlier work focused primarily on the wonders of the natural world, his later work has been more vocal in support of environmental causes. He has advocated for restoring planetary
Life and family
David Frederick Attenborough was born on 8 May 1926 in
Attenborough spent his childhood collecting fossils, stones, and natural specimens.[11] He received encouragement when a young Jacquetta Hawkes admired his collection.[12] He spent much time in the grounds of the university. Aged around 11, he heard that the zoology department needed a large supply of newts, which he offered through his father to supply for 3d each. The source, which he did not reveal at the time, was a pond right next to the department.[13] A year later, his adoptive sister Marianne gave him a piece of amber containing prehistoric creatures; some sixty years later, it would be the focus of his programme The Amber Time Machine.[14]
In 1936, Attenborough and his brother Richard attended a lecture by Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney) at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, and were influenced by his advocacy of conservation. According to Richard, David was "bowled over by the man's determination to save the beaver, by his profound knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Canadian wilderness and by his warnings of ecological disaster should the delicate balance between them be destroyed. The idea that mankind was endangering nature by recklessly despoiling and plundering its riches was unheard of at the time, but it is one that has remained part of Dave's own credo to this day."[15] In 1999, Richard directed a biopic of Belaney entitled Grey Owl.[16]
Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester.[17] He won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge in 1945 to study geology and zoology and obtained a degree in natural sciences.[18] In 1947, he was called up for national service in the Royal Navy and spent two years stationed in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.[12] In 1950, Attenborough married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel. The couple had two children, Robert and Susan. Jane died in 1997.[19] Robert is a senior lecturer in bioanthropology for the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra.[20][21] Susan is a former primary school headmistress.[17]
Attenborough had a pacemaker fitted in June 2013 as well as a double knee replacement in 2015.[22] In September 2013, he commented: "If I was earning my money by hewing coal I would be very glad indeed to stop. But I'm not. I'm swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things. Such good fortune."[23]
Career
Early years at the BBC
After leaving the navy, Attenborough took a position editing children's science textbooks for a publishing company. He soon became disillusioned with the work and in 1950 applied for a job as a radio talk producer with the BBC.[24] Although he was rejected for this job, his CV later attracted the interest of Mary Adams, head of the Talks (factual broadcasting) department of the BBC's fledgling television service.[25] Attenborough, like most Britons at that time, did not own a television, and he had seen only one programme in his life.[26]
He accepted Adams' offer of a three-month training course. In 1952 he joined the BBC full-time. Initially discouraged from appearing on camera because Adams thought his teeth were too big,[24] he became a producer for the Talks department, which handled all non-fiction broadcasts. His early projects included the quiz show Animal, Vegetable, Mineral? and Song Hunter, a series about folk music presented by Alan Lomax.[24]
Attenborough's association with natural history programmes began when he produced and presented the three-part series Animal Patterns. The studio-bound programme featured animals from London Zoo, with the naturalist Julian Huxley discussing their use of camouflage, aposematism and courtship displays. Through this programme, Attenborough met Jack Lester, the curator of the zoo's reptile house, and they decided to make a series about an animal-collecting expedition. The result was Zoo Quest, first broadcast in 1954, where Attenborough became the presenter at short notice due to Lester being taken ill.[27]
In 1957, the
BBC administration
Attenborough became Controller of BBC Two in March 1965, succeeding Michael Peacock.[31] He had a clause inserted in his contract that would allow him to continue making programmes on an occasional basis. Later the same year he filmed elephants in Tanzania, and in 1969 he made a three-part series on the cultural history of the Indonesian island of Bali. For the 1971 film A Blank on the Map, he joined the first Western expedition to a remote highland valley in New Guinea to seek out a lost tribe.[32]
BBC Two was launched in 1964, but had struggled to capture the public's imagination. When Attenborough arrived as controller, he quickly abolished the channel's quirky kangaroo mascot and shook up the schedule. With a mission to make BBC Two's output diverse and different from that offered by other networks, he began to establish a portfolio of programmes that defined the channel's identity for decades to come. Under his tenure, music, the arts, entertainment, archaeology, experimental comedy, travel, drama, sport, business, science and natural history all found a place in the weekly schedules. Often, an eclectic mix was offered within a single evening's viewing. Programmes he commissioned included
One of his most significant decisions was to order a 13-part series on the
While in charge of BBC Two, Attenborough turned down Terry Wogan's job application to be a presenter on the channel, stating that there weren't any suitable vacancies. The channel already had an Irish announcer, with Attenborough reflecting in 2016: "To have had two Irishmen presenting on BBC Two would have looked ridiculous. This is no comment whatsoever on Terry Wogan's talents."[39] Attenborough has also acknowledged that he sanctioned the wiping of television output during this period to cut costs, including a series by Alan Bennett, which he later regretted.[40]
In 1969, Attenborough was promoted to director of programmes, making him responsible for the output of both BBC channels.[41] His tasks, which included agreeing budgets, attending board meetings and firing staff, were now far removed from the business of filming programmes. When Attenborough's name was being suggested as a candidate for the position of Director-General of the BBC in 1972, he phoned his brother Richard to confess that he had no appetite for the job. Early the following year, he left his post to return to full-time programme-making, leaving him free to write and present the planned natural history epic.[11]
After his resignation, Attenborough became a freelance broadcaster and started work on his next project, a trip to Indonesia with a crew from the Natural History Unit. It resulted in the 1973 series Eastwards with Attenborough, which was similar in tone to the earlier Zoo Quest; the main difference was the introduction of colour. Attenborough stated that he wanted to work in Asia, because previous nature documentaries had mostly focused on Africa.[42] That year, Attenborough was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on The Language of Animals.[43] After his work on Eastwards with Attenborough, he began to work on the scripts for Life on Earth.[44]
Due to the scale of his ambition, the BBC decided to partner with an American network to secure the necessary funding. While the negotiations were proceeding, he worked on a number of other television projects. He presented a series on
Life series
Beginning with Life on Earth in 1979, Attenborough set about creating a body of work which became a benchmark of quality in wildlife film-making, and influenced a generation of documentary film-makers. The series established many of the hallmarks of the BBC's natural history output. By treating his subject seriously and researching the latest discoveries, Attenborough and his production team gained the trust of scientists, who responded by allowing him to feature their subjects in his programmes.[48]
Innovation was another factor in Life on Earth's success: new film-making techniques were devised to get the shots Attenborough wanted, with a focus on events and animals that were up till then unfilmed. International air travel enabled the series to be devised so that Attenborough visited several locations around the globe in each episode, sometimes even changing continents in one sequence. Although appearing as the on-screen presenter, he restricted his time on camera to give more time to his subjects.[49]
Five years after the success of Life on Earth, the BBC released The Living Planet.[50] This time, Attenborough built his series around the theme of ecology, the adaptations of living things to their environment. It was another critical and commercial success, generating huge international sales for the BBC. In 1990, The Trials of Life completed the original Life trilogy, looking at animal behaviour through the different stages of life.[51]
In the 1990s, Attenborough continued to use the "Life" title for a succession of authored documentaries. In 1993, he presented
Prompted by an enthusiastic
At this point, Attenborough realised that he had spent 20 years unconsciously assembling a collection of programmes on all the major groups of terrestrial animals and plants – only reptiles and amphibians were missing. When Life in Cold Blood was broadcast in 2008, he had the satisfaction of completing the set, brought together in a DVD encyclopaedia called Life on Land. He commented: "The evolutionary history is finished. The endeavour is complete. If you'd asked me 20 years ago whether we'd be attempting such a mammoth task, I'd have said 'Don't be ridiculous!' These programmes tell a particular story and I'm sure others will come along and tell it much better than I did, but I do hope that if people watch it in 50 years' time, it will still have something to say about the world we live in."[55]
However, in 2010 Attenborough asserted that his First Life – dealing with evolutionary history before Life on Earth – should be included within the "Life" series. In the documentary Attenborough's Journey, he stated, "This series, to a degree which I really didn't fully appreciate until I started working on it, really completes the set."[56]
Beyond Life on Earth
Alongside the Life series, Attenborough continued to work on other television documentaries, mainly in the natural history genre. He wrote and presented a series on man's influence on the natural history of the Mediterranean Basin, The First Eden, in 1987. Two years later, he demonstrated his passion for fossils in Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives.[57] In 1990, he worked on the BBC's Prisoners of Conscience series where he highlighted the case of the Sudanese poet Mahjoub Sharif.[58]
Attenborough narrated every episode of
As a writer and narrator, Attenborough continued to collaborate with the BBC Natural History Unit in the new millennium. Alastair Fothergill, a senior producer with whom Attenborough had worked on The Trials of Life and Life in the Freezer, was making The Blue Planet (2001), the Unit's first comprehensive series on marine life.[62] He decided not to use an on-screen presenter due to difficulties in speaking to a camera through diving apparatus, but asked Attenborough to narrate the films. The same team reunited for Planet Earth (2006), the biggest nature documentary ever made for television and the first BBC wildlife series to be shot in high definition.[63]
In 2009, Attenborough co-wrote and narrated Life, a ten-part series focussing on extraordinary animal behaviour,[64] and narrated Nature's Great Events, which showed how seasonal changes trigger major natural spectacles.[65] In January 2009, the BBC commissioned Attenborough to provide a series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of nature. Entitled David Attenborough's Life Stories, they were broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday nights.[66]
In 2011, Fothergill gave Attenborough a more prominent role in Frozen Planet, a major series on the natural history of the polar regions; Attenborough appeared on screen and authored the final episode, in addition to performing voiceover duties. Attenborough introduced and narrated the Unit's first 4K production Life Story. For Planet Earth II (2016), Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter, with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer.[67][68]
In October 2014, the corporation announced a trio of new one-off Attenborough documentaries as part of a raft of new natural history programmes. "Attenborough's Paradise Birds" and "Attenborough's Big Birds" was shown on BBC Two and "Waking Giants", which follows the discovery of giant dinosaur bones in South America, aired on BBC One.[69] The BBC also commissioned Atlantic Productions to make a three-part, Attenborough-fronted series Great Barrier Reef in 2015. The series marked the 10th project for Attenborough and Atlantic, and saw him returning to a location he first filmed at in 1957.[70][71]
On radio, Attenborough has continued as one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's
Attenborough has narrated three series of
Attenborough returned to prehistoric life with
Environmentalist advocacy
By the turn of the millennium, Attenborough's authored documentaries were adopting a more overtly
In 2019, Attenborough narrated
In 2020, Attenborough narrated the documentary film David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet. The film acts as Attenborough's witness statement, reflecting on his career as a naturalist and his hopes for the future.[94] It was released on Netflix on 4 October 2020.[95] Further work for Netflix includes the documentary titled Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, released on 4 June 2021.[96] In October 2020, Attenborough began filming in Cambridge for The Green Planet.[97] In 2021, Attenborough narrated A Perfect Planet, a five-part earth science series for BBC One.[98]
Attenborough was a key figure in the build-up to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and gave a speech at the opening ceremony.[99] In his speech he stated that humans were "the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth" and spoke of his optimism for the future, finishing by saying "In my lifetime I've witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery."[100]
In 2022, the United Nations Environment Programme recognised Attenborough as a Champion of the Earth "for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration".[101][102]
Views and advocacy
Environment
Attenborough's programmes have often included references to the impact of human society on the natural world. The last episode of The Living Planet, for example, focuses almost entirely on humans' destruction of the environment and ways that it could be stopped or reversed. Despite this, he has been criticised for not giving enough prominence to environmental messages. In 2018 while promoting Dynasties, he said that repeated messages on threats to wildlife in programming could be a "turn-off" to viewers.[103]
Some environmentalists feel that programmes like Attenborough's give a false picture of idyllic wilderness and do not do enough to acknowledge that such areas are increasingly encroached upon by humans.
In 2005 and 2006, Attenborough backed a BirdLife International project to stop the killing of albatross by longline fishing boats.[114] He gave support to WWF's campaign to have 220,000 square kilometres of Borneo's rainforest designated a protected area.[115] He serves as a vice-president of The Conservation Volunteers,[116] vice-president of Fauna and Flora International,[117] president of Butterfly Conservation[118] and president emeritus of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.[119]
In 2003, Attenborough launched an appeal on behalf of the World Land Trust to create a rainforest reserve in Ecuador in memory of Christopher Parsons, the producer of Life on Earth and a personal friend, who had died the previous year.[120] The same year, he helped to launch ARKive,[121] a global project instigated by Parsons to gather together natural history media into a digital library. ARKive is an initiative of Wildscreen, of which Attenborough is a patron.[122] He later became patron of the World Land Trust. In 2020, he backed a Fauna and Flora International campaign calling for a global moratorium on deep sea mining for its impact on marine life.[123]
During the
Attenborough was initially skeptical about the human influence on
Human population
Attenborough has linked anthropogenic effects on the environment with
According to Attenborough, improving women's rights around the world is an effective way "to limit our birth rate."[147] He said that "anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist."[147]
Religious views
Attenborough considers himself an
My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance
orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy'.[149]
He has explained that he feels the evidence all over the planet clearly shows evolution to be the best way to explain the diversity of life, and that "as far as [he's] concerned, if there is a supreme being then he chose organic evolution as a way of bringing into existence the natural world". In a BBC Four interview with Mark Lawson, he was asked if he at any time had any religious faith. He replied simply, "no".[150] He said "It never really occurred to me to believe in God".[151]
In 2002, Attenborough joined an effort by leading clerics and scientists to oppose the inclusion of creationism in the curriculum of UK state-funded independent schools which receive private sponsorship, such as the Emmanuel Schools Foundation.[152] In 2009, he stated that the Book of Genesis, by saying that the world was there for people to control, had taught generations that they can "dominate" the environment, and that this has resulted in the devastation of vast areas of the environment. He further explained to the science journal Nature, "That's why Darwinism, and the fact of evolution, is of great importance, because it is that attitude which has led to the devastation of so much, and we are in the situation that we are in".[153]
Also in early 2009, the BBC broadcast an Attenborough one-hour special, Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life. In reference to the programme, Attenborough stated that "People write to me that evolution is only a theory. Well, it is not a theory. Evolution is as solid a historical fact as you could conceive. Evidence from every quarter. What is a theory is whether natural selection is the mechanism and the only mechanism. That is a theory. But the historical reality that dinosaurs led to birds and mammals produced whales, that's not theory."[154] He strongly opposes creationism and its offshoot "intelligent design", saying that the results of a survey that found a quarter of science teachers in state schools believe that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science lessons was "really terrible".[154]
In March 2009, Attenborough appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Attenborough stated that he felt evolution did not rule out the existence of a God and accepted the title of agnostic saying, "My view is: I don't know one way or the other but I don't think that evolution is against a belief in God".[155]
Attenborough has joined the evolutionary biologist
BBC and public service broadcasting
Attenborough is a lifelong supporter of the BBC,
... the BBC per minute in almost every category is as cheap as you can find anywhere in the world and produces the best quality. [...] The BBC has gone through swingeing staff cuts. It has been cut to the bone, if you divert licence fee money elsewhere, you cut quality and services. [...] There is a lot of people who want to see the BBC weakened. They talk of this terrible tax of the licence fee. Yet it is the best bargain that is going. Four radio channels and god knows how many TV channels. It is piffling.[157]
Attenborough expressed the view that there had often been people wanting to remove the BBC, adding "there's always been trouble about the licence and if you dropped your guard you could bet our bottom dollar there'd be plenty of people who'd want to take it away. The licence fee is the basis on which the BBC is based and if you destroy it, broadcasting... becomes a wasteland."
Although he said Birt's policies had poor results, Attenborough also acknowledged "the BBC had to change."[160][161] In 2008, he criticised the BBC's television schedules, positing that the two senior networks, BBC One and BBC Two – which Attenborough stated were "first set up as a partnership" – now "schedule simultaneously programmes of identical character, thereby contradicting the very reason that the BBC was given a second network."[158]
Politics
In 1998, Attenborough described himself as "a standard, boring left-wing liberal" and expressed the view that the market economy was "misery".[160] In 2013, Attenborough joined the rock guitarists Brian May and Slash in opposing the government's policy on the cull of badgers in the UK by participating in a song dedicated to badgers.[162] Attenborough was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum on that issue.[163] Prior to the 2015 UK general election, Attenborough was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas.[164]
In a 2020 interview, Attenborough criticised excess capitalism as a driver of ecological imbalance, stating "the excesses the capitalist system has brought us, have got to be curbed somehow", and that "greed does not actually lead to joy", although he added "That doesn't mean to say that capitalism is dead".[165] He also lamented the lack of international cooperation on climate change, and said "there should be no dominant nation on this planet."[166] In 2021, Attenborough told the leaders of the 47th G7 summit that "tackling climate change was now as much a political challenge as it was a scientific or technological one" and urged more action.[167] Attenborough also stated that "(we) are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."[168]
In 2023, Attenborough was described by the New Statesman as a figure “invaluable to green diplomacy” in the UK, placing him number twenty-third in their list of Britain's most powerful left-wing figures, above many elected politicians.[169]
Achievements, awards and recognition
He roamed the globe and shared his discoveries and enthusiasms with his patented semi-whisper way of narrating. He talks like he's revealing secrets and draws you in using such simple language that he's instantly understood, making his sense of wonder infectious. And when he goes on site to share the screen with one of his subjects, it's magical.
—NPR review of Attenborough's Journey' Salutes The Broadcaster With A Passion For Nature.[2]
Attenborough's contribution to broadcasting and wildlife film-making has brought 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 cited as an example of what public service broadcasting should be, even by critics of the BBC, and have influenced a generation of wildlife film-makers.[171]
Honorary titles
By January 2013, Attenborough had collected 32 honorary degrees from British universities,
In 2006, the two eldest Attenborough brothers returned to their home city to receive the title of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester, "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University."
Attenborough has received the title Honorary Fellow from Clare College, Cambridge (1980),
Recognition
Attenborough has been featured as the subject of a number of BBC television programmes. Life on Air (2002) examined the legacy of his work, and Attenborough the Controller (2002) focused on his time in charge of BBC Two. He was also featured prominently in The Way We Went Wild (2004), a series about natural history television presenters, and 100 Years of Wildlife Films (2007), a programme marking the centenary of the nature documentary. In 2006, British television viewers were asked to vote for their Favourite Attenborough Moments for a UKTV poll to coincide with the broadcaster's 80th birthday. The winning clip showed Attenborough observing the mimicry skills of the superb lyrebird.[188]
Attenborough was named the most trusted celebrity in the 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 100 Greatest Britons in a 2002 BBC poll and is one of the top ten "Heroes of Our Time" according to New Statesman magazine.[191] In September 2009, London's Natural History Museum opened the Attenborough Studio, part of its Darwin Centre development.[192]
In 2012, Attenborough was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir
A British polar research ship was named RRS Sir David Attenborough in his honour. While an Internet poll suggesting the name of the ship had the most votes for Boaty McBoatface, the science minister Jo Johnson said there were "more suitable names", and the official name was eventually picked up from one of the more favoured choices. However, one of its research sub-sea vehicles was named "Boaty" in recognition of the public vote.[195]
Attenborough is also recognised by Guinness World Records as having the longest career as a natural historian and presenter in television.[196]
Species named after Attenborough
At least 20 species and genera, both living and extinct, have been named in Attenborough's honour.
Several arthropods are named after Attenborough, including a butterfly, Attenborough's black-eyed satyr (
The
In 1993, after discovering that the
In 2015, a species of tree from Gabon (in the Annonaceae family) Sirdavidia Couvreur & Sauquet was named with his title.[214]
A miniature marsupial lion,
In 2018, a new species of
Awards
Year | Award | Refs. |
---|---|---|
1972 | Royal Geographical Society's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award | [226] |
1974 | Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to nature conservation in the 1974 Birthday Honours |
[227] |
1980 | BAFTA Fellowship | [228] |
1981 | Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science from UNESCO | [229] |
1983 | Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) | [230] |
1985 | Knight Bachelor in the 1985 Birthday Honours | [231] |
1991 | Christmas broadcast for a number of years from 1986 in the 1991 Birthday Honours |
[232] |
1991 | Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | [233] |
1992 | Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts | [234] |
1996 | Kew International Medal | [1] |
1996 | Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to nature broadcasting in the 1996 New Year Honours |
[235] |
1998 | International Cosmos Prize | [236] |
2000 | RSPB Medal | [237] |
2003 | Michael Faraday Prize awarded by the Royal Society |
[238] |
2004 | Descartes Prize for Outstanding Science Communication Actions | [239] |
2004 | Caird Medal of the National Maritime Museum |
[240] |
2004 | José Vasconcelos World Award of Education awarded by the World Cultural Council | [241] |
2005 | Order of Merit (OM) | [242] |
2005 | Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest | [243] |
2006 | National Television Awards Special Recognition Award | [244] |
2006 | Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management |
[245] |
2006 | The Culture Show British Icon Award | [246] |
2007 | British Naturalists' Association Peter Scott Memorial Award | [247] |
2007 | Fellowship of Society of Antiquaries | [248] |
2008 | The Royal Photographic Society Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship | [249] |
2009 | Prince of Asturias Award |
[250] |
2010 | Fonseca Prize | [251] |
2010 | Queensland Museum Medal | [252] |
2011 | Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal | [253] |
2011 | Association for International Broadcasting International TV Personality of the year | [254] |
2012 | IUCN Phillips Memorial Medal for outstanding service in international conservation |
[255] |
2015 | Individual Peabody Award |
[256] |
2017 | Britain-Australia Society Award for outstanding contribution to strengthening British/Australian bilateral understanding and relations |
[257] |
2017 | Honorary Member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists | [258] |
2017 | Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society | [259] |
2018 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator | [260] |
2018 | The Perfect World Foundation Award | [261] |
2019 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator | [262] |
2019 | Landscape Institute Medal for Lifetime Achievement | [263] |
2019 | Landscape Institute Honorary Fellow (HonFLI) | [263] |
2019 | Crystal Award at the Davos, Switzerland |
[264][265] |
2019 | Indira Gandhi Peace Prize | [266] |
2019 | Chatham House Prize |
[267] |
2020 | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to television broadcasting and to conservation. |
[268][269] |
2021 | Lifetime Achievement Award (Champions of the Earth) | [270] |
2022 | Champion of the Earth award from the United Nations Environment Programme. | [101] |
2022 | Lifetime Achievement Award at 43rd News and Documentary Emmy Awards | [271] |
2023 | UK's Favourite TV Presenter of All Time (Perspectus Global) | [272] |
As of 2014, he was the only person to have won
Filmography
Attenborough's television credits span eight decades. His association with natural history programmes dates back to The Pattern of Animals and Zoo Quest in the early 1950s. His most influential work, 1979's Life on Earth, launched a strand of nine authored documentaries with the BBC Natural History Unit which shared the Life strand name and spanned 30 years.[274] He narrated the long-running BBC series Wildlife on One. In his later career, he provided narration for several high-profile BBC wildlife documentaries, among them The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. He became a pioneer in the 3D documentary format with Flying Monsters in 2010.[274]
Bibliography
David Attenborough's work as an author has strong parallels with his broadcasting career. In the 1950s and 1960s, his published work included accounts of his animal collecting expeditions around the world, which became the Zoo Quest series. He wrote an accompanying volume to each of his nine Life documentaries, along with books on tribal art and birds of paradise. His autobiography, Life on Air, was published in 2002, revised in 2009 and is one of a number of his works which is available as a self-narrated audiobook. Attenborough has contributed forewords and introductions to many other works, notably those accompanying Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Africa and other BBC series he has narrated.[275][276]
- Zoo Quest to Guyana (1956)
- Zoo Quest for a Dragon (1957) – republished in 1959 to include an additional 85 pages titled Quest for the Paradise Birds
- Zoo Quest in Paraguay (1959)
- Quest in Paradise (1960)
- People of Paradise (1960)
- Zoo Quest to Madagascar (1961)
- Quest Under Capricorn (1963)
- Fabulous Animals (1975)
- The Tribal Eye (1976)
- Life on Earth (1979)
- Discovering Life on Earth (1981)
- The Living Planet (1984)
- The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man (1987)
- The Atlas of the Living World (1989)
- The Trials of Life (1990)
- The Private Life of Plants (1994)
- The Life of Birds (1998)
- The Life of Mammals (2002)
- Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster (2002) – autobiography, revised in 2009
- Life in the Undergrowth (2005)
- Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery (2007) – with Susan Owens, Martin Clayton and Rea Alexandratos
- Life in Cold Blood (2007)
- David Attenborough's Life Stories (2009)
- David Attenborough's New Life Stories (2011)
- Drawn From Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise (2012) – with Errol Fuller
- Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions (2017)
- Journeys to the Other Side of the World: Further Adventures of a Young Naturalist (2018)
- Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of Animal Families with Stephen Moss (2018)
- A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future(2020)
References
- ^ a b "Ethiopia's Prof. Sebsebe Demissew awarded prestigious Kew International Medal". Kew.org. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Attenborough's Journey' Salutes The Broadcaster With A Passion For Nature". NPR. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Waldemayer, Winston (28 January 2009). "Short Sharp Science: Eye-burrowing worms, national treasures... and creationism". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ Kendall, Paul (31 January 2009). "Sir David Attenborough: 'Man was given permission to exploit the natural world by the Bible'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Margaret Thatcher, Richard Branson and Judi Dench picked as National Treasures". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.5973. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough (English broadcaster and author)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "History of College House". Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Robinson, David (2 September 2014). "Remembering Richard Attenborough". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "The children Britain took to its heart". The Jewish Chronicle. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ^ BAFTA Guru. 19 May 2009. Archived from the originalon 1 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Sir David Attenborough – Naturalist". BBC. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ "Picture of the day: Leicester celebs, before they were famous". Leicester Mercury. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "Jewel of the Earth". PBS. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Robinson, David (2 September 2014). "Remembering Richard Attenborough". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Attenborough, Richard (26 October 2000). "Animal Magic:Richard Attenborough on the Life and Times of Grey Owl". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b Rebecca Tyrrel (29 October 2010). "David Attenborough: in the beginning". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Cover.Qxd" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ Rushin, Tess (16 April 2018). "What you need to know about Sir David Attenborough". LeicestershireLive. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Dr Robert Attenborough". School of Archaeology & Anthropology – ANU. Arts.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Canberra has marvellous facilities". The Canberra Times. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ Murphy, Claire (6 November 2016). "Sir David Attenborough reveals he's got a 'new lease of life' at 90". The Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Meikle, James (10 September 2013). "Sir David Attenborough warns against large families and predicts things will only get worse". The Guardian. The Guardian news group. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Life on Air, p.13.
- ^ Fara, Patricia (2018). A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War. Oxford University Press. p. 266.
- ISBN 978-0-563-53461-7. pp. 10–11.
- ^ Walton, James (21 May 2016). "David Attenborough used to steal the animals he found in the jungle and take them home". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ a b Life on Air, pp. 60–61.
- ^ "Transcript of interview with David Attenborough" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "These 18 insanely successful people all went to the London School of Economics". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Mr. David Attenborough is New B.B.C.-2 Head". The Times. 5 March 1965. p. 6. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ "BBC Two – Attenborough's Passion Projects, A Blank on the Map, First contact with the Biami tribe in 1971". BBC. 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "David Attenborough: a fine specimen". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "History of Snooker". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-1598843019.
- ^ "The real David Attenborough". The Guardian. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- OCLC 778343652.
- ^ "Chris Parsons". The Telegraph. 27 November 2002. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Roper, Kerri-Ann (9 February 2016). "David Attenborough 'rebuffed' Terry Wogan's BBC presenter job application because they had an Irish announcer". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Furness, Hannah (24 April 2014). "David Attenborough: my regrets over wiping Alan Bennett 'dross'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ "Nine astonishing ways David Attenborough shaped your world". BBC Teach. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ISBN 978-3-030-19981-4.
- ^ "The languages of animals". The Royal Institution. December 1973. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ a b "BFI Fil and TV Database Attenborough". Archived from the original on 17 January 2009.
- ^ Gately, Martin (1 April 2006). "Fortean Times episode guide to Fabulous Animals". Forteantimes.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Life On Earth". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ China's One Child Policy was a secret from the West. Then David Attenborough asked one question
- ISBN 0-563-48780-1. pp. 289–291.
- ^ Miles Barton (director), David Attenborough (presenter), Alastair Fothergill (executive producer) (2012). Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild, Episode 1, Life on Camera (documentary). BBC.
- ^ Gouyon 2019, p. 233.
- ^ "The Trials of Life". Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "Peabody Award Citation: The Private Life of Plants (1995)". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ 59th Annual Peabody Awards Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, May 2000.
- ^ "BBC Science & Nature – Life In The Undergrowth". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Radio Times 26 Jan–1 February 2008: "The Last Word", interview with Jeremy Paxman
- ^ Attenborough's Journey, BBC Two, 24 October 2010
- ^ "Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives". Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021 – via topdocumentaryfilms.com.
- ^ "Solidarity and Return to Sender". Amnesty Magazine. 0264–3278 (151): 24. September–October 2008.
- ^ "Meerkats United". WildFilmistory.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ Attenborough, David. ""Where the Wild Things Are" (Essay for BBC "Made in the Uk")" (PDF). BBC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ "Tribute to BBC Natural History Unit: Bristol's Natural Wonder". Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One". BBC. 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (21 September 2007). "Attenborough is back – again". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ "Nature's Great Events press pack: introduction". BBC Press Office. 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ Rollo, Sarah (30 January 2009). "Attenborough takes on Cooke's radio slot". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to present brand new landmark natural history series for BBC One". BBC. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Planet Earth II – BBC One". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ "David Attenborough to examine ostriches and dinosaurs". BBC News. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "David Attenborough to present new landmark series on the Great Barrier Reef for BBC One". BBC Media Centre. Archived from the original on 1 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough heads back to Great Barrier Reef". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Michael Palin to become Radio 4 Tweet of the Day presenter". Digital Spy. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to front Sky 3D wildlife show". BBC News. 7 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ "David Attenborough to explore the evolution of flight in Conquest of the Skies 3D, a 3 part series for broadcast on Sky 3D and in 2D on Sky 1 this Xmas". Sky Media Centre. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka" Archived 1 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. TheHindu.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One". BBC. 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ "Radio Times top 40 TV shows of 2017". Radio Times. 29 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Ruddick, Graham (6 November 2017). "Blue Planet II is year's most watched British TV show". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Has Blue Planet II had an impact on plastic pollution?". BBC Science Focus Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "BBC – Sir David Attenborough to present BBC One's Dynasty – Media Centre". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ White, Peter (25 September 2018). "Sir David Attenborough's Wildlife Doc Series 'Dynasties' Goes Global Via BBC Studios". Deadline. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ "Attenborough's Life in Colour Season 1". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "BBC One – The Mating Game". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "IBC Honours BBC Natural History Unit For Contribution To Wildlife Film". 4rfv.co.uk. 21 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009.
- ^ "David Attenborough lays out 7 actions to save the world". MINDFOOD. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Waterson, Jim (8 November 2018). "David Attenborough to present Netflix nature series Our Planet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ Gouyon 2019, p. 247–251.
- ^ Norbu Wangchuk, Rincehn (26 February 2019). "Exclusive: The Story Behind Wild Karnataka, India's First Blue Chip Natural History Film!". The Better India. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to present climate change documentary". BBC News. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ "Climate Change: The Facts review – our greatest threat, laid bare". The Guardian. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ Vaughan, Adam (6 September 2020). "Extinction: The Facts – An Attenborough guide to nature's destruction". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction" Archived 28 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. BBC Science. Retrieved 14 October 2020
- ^ Lowry, Brian (2 October 2020). "David Attenborough offers his 'witness statement,' and a warning, in 'A Life on Our Planet'". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet release date – David Attenborough to narrate Netflix documentary". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough spotted filming in Cambridge for new series of The Green Planet" Archived 3 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Cambridge News. Retrieved 14 October 2020
- from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Attenborough's full speech: 'Not fear, but hope'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ "COP26: David Attenborough says world is looking to leaders". BBC News. 1 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ a b "David Attenborough receives the UN's most distinguished environment award". UN Environment Programme. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough named Champion of the Earth by UN". BBC News. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "David Attenborough: too much alarmism on environment a turn-off". The Guardian. 4 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ James Fair, "Small Things Bright and Beautiful", BBC Wildlife Magazine, November 2005, pp. 25–26.
- ^ "Planet Earth II 'a disaster for world's wildlife' says rival nature producer". The Guardian. January 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020.
- ^ "David Attenborough has betrayed the living world he loves | George Monbiot". The Guardian. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ Jones, Julia P. G. (5 April 2019). "Our Planet is billed as an Attenborough documentary with a difference but it shies away from uncomfortable truths". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction". BBC News. 12 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ Jones, Julia P. G. (14 September 2020). "'Extinction: The Facts': Attenborough's new documentary is surprisingly radical". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet review – stark climate emergency warning". The Guardian. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Attenborough to front climate-change film as BBC moves from teach to preach". The Guardian. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "David Attenborough climate change TV show a 'call to arms'". BBC News. 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "'Harrowing' and 'heartbreaking': Sir David Attenborough's new documentary shocks viewers". Stuff.co.nz. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Personal plea by David Attenborough". savethealbatross.net. 27 January 2006. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough: Heart of Borneo is a global heritage". WWF-UK press release. Archived from the original on 9 September 2006.
- ^ "Governance | TCV". The Conservation Volunteers. 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "People | Fauna & Flora International". Fauna & Flora International. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "Our President – Sir David Attenborough". butterfly-conservation.org. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "News | Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust". www.lrwt.org.uk. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Farrows (25 May 2021). "Rainforest Saved in Memory of Christopher Parsons – World Land Trust". World Land Trust. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Davies, Ashley (20 May 2003). "Arkive sets sail on the web". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ WildScreen Annual Review 2010 (PDF). Wildscreen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ^ "David Attenborough calls for ban on 'devastating' deep sea mining". The Guardian. 12 March 2020. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Attenborough warns London Zoo risks 'extinction'". BBC News. 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "AKDN partners with Prince William in Earthshot prize". The East African. 27 October 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Sh7bn environment 'Nobel' prize launched". Nation. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ "AKDN launches Earthshot Prize in partnership with Prince William". Business Standard. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- ^ Christine Fleming (3 April 2011). "Sir David Attenborough steps up as Friends of Richmond Park marks golden anniversary". This is Local London (Newsquest). Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Attenborough, David (24 May 2006). "Climate change is the major challenge facing the world". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008.
- ^ Hickman, Leo (13 August 2018). "The 2004 lecture that finally convinced David Attenborough about global warming". Carbon Brief. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "The Latest: Attenborough: Earth's stable climate is breaking". AP NEWS. 1 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "David Attenborough says Britain has 'moral responsibility' to 'act now' on climate". The Independent. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Gammel, Caroline (11 July 2018). "'Giant' wind turbine for Glyndebourne". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ Dalton, Jane (26 August 2020). "Go vegetarian to save wildlife and the planet, Sir David Attenborough urges". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "David Attenborough warns 'human beings have overrun the world' in new film". inews.co.uk. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Morris, Sophie (14 January 2020). "Chris Packham thinks we might need a one-child policy to save the world". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Schofield, Claire (21 January 2020). "Chris Packham: 7.7 Billion People and Counting: when the documentary is on TV". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ^ Manavis, Sarah (3 November 2020). "David Attenborough's claim that humans have overrun the planet is his most popular comment". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
A new study shows that Attenborough's unverified claims regarding overpopulation dominate social media discourse
- ^ a b c Tran, Mark (18 September 2013). "David Attenborough: Trying to tackle famine with bags of flour is 'barmy'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Vidal, John (14 April 2009). "Attenborough becomes patron for Optimum Population Trust". The Guardian. The Guardian, UK broadsheet newspaper. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough warns against large families and predicts things will only get worse". The Guardian. 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Attenborough is new OPT patron". populationmatters.org. Population Matters, UK Charity. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016.
- ^ "David Attenborough: "Humans are a plague on the Earth"". Radio Times. 22 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Gray, Louise (22 January 2013). "David Attenborough – Humans are plague on Earth". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
- ^ "David Attenborough says sending food to famine-ridden countries is 'barmy'". The Independent. The Independent, newsgroup. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- ^ "Is population growth out of control?". BBC News. 29 September 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ a b Cardwell, Mark Riley (16 October 2013). "David Attenborough: someone who believes in infinite growth is 'either a madman or an economist'". Mongabay. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- BBC Radio Five Live, 2 December 2005 Archived 1 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ David Attenborough, 2003. "Wild, wild life Archived 11 December 2003 at the Wayback Machine." The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March. Attenborough has also told this story in numerous other interviews.
- ^ BBC Today programme, 31 January 2009
- ^ Walker, Tim (26 January 2009). "Sir David Attenborough questioned on faith, naturally". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (27 January 2009). "Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- PMID 19225509.
- ^ a b c Whitworth, Damian (22 January 2009). "David Attenborough on Charles Darwin – Times Online". The Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- ^ "David Attenborough on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross". 31 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2009 – via YouTube.
- ^ Collins, Nick (19 September 2011). "David Attenborough joins campaign against creationism in schools". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b Pierce, Andrew (2 May 2008). "Sir David Attenborough enters political jungle". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b "The future of public service broadcasting" Archived 3 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2019
- ^ "Attenborough backs Ross". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "The New Statesman Interview – David Attenborough". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
- ^ Hamilton, Fiona (3 November 2002). "Interview: Marguerite Driscoll meets Sir David Attenborough: So much jollier than being DG". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (4 June 2013). "Slash and David Attenborough join Brian May in pro-badger supergroup". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (24 April 2015). "Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ "Attenborough: 'Curb excess capitalism' to save nature". BBC News. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- ^ Blum, Jeremy (10 October 2020). "David Attenborough Calls Out The 'Excesses' Of Capitalism In A World Facing Climate Change". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Environmentalist Attenborough tells G7: We need the will to tackle climate change". Reuters. 13 June 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ Lee, Dulcie; Lee, Joseph (13 June 2021). "G7 to agree tough measures on burning coal to tackle climate change". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Smith, Giles (31 December 2001). "What comes naturally". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ Donaghy, James (3 March 2008). "David Attenborough: a fine specimen". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ Howie, Michael; Herrmann, Joshi Eichner; Rivlin, Jack (1 August 2010). "Sir David Attenborough heads lists of most honoured by Britain's universities". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ Fergus, Lindsay (16 January 2013). "David Attenborough: The man with the most honorary degrees in UK gets one more from Queen's University". The Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "David Attenborough receives '32nd' honorary degree – CBBC Newsround". BBC. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees". Durham University. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Council of ambassadors | Sir David Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS". WWF-UK. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Overzicht eredoctoraten – Universiteit Gent" (in Dutch). Universiteit Gent. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "British Icons Pick Up Uni Honours". Sky News. 13 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough to receive Freedom of the City" (Press release). Bristol City Council. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ "Honorary Doctorates – Alumni Relations". Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Honorary graduates | 2010 | Sir David Attenborough". Nottingham Trent University. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Honorary Fellows – Clare College Cambridge". Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Royal Patrons and Honorary Fellows". The Linnean Society. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "North American Native Plant Society – NANPS Board". Nanps.org. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough signs Academy Charter | Australian Academy of Science". Australian Academy of Science. 17 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ West, Dave (7 May 2006). "Impression bird is voted Sir Dave fave". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ Hoggart, Simon (28 January 2006). "In David we trust ... but not Peter". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Living Icons – David Attenborough". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ "Heroes of our time – the top 50". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 28 April 2011.
- ^ "Prince opens £78m Darwin Centre". BBC News. 14 September 2009.
- ^ "New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday". The Guardian. 5 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
- ^ "The New Elizabethans – David Attenborough". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^ "'Boaty McBoatface' polar ship named after Attenborough". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ "David Attenborough: Longest career as a TV presenter". Guinness World Records. Jim Pattison Group. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- PMID 27172032.
- (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- PMID 25878546.
- ^ "Rare Amazonian butterfly named after Sir David Attenborough". BBC Earth. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- ^ "Attenborough at 90". Attenborough at 90. 8 May 2016. BBC Television. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "Agnarsson et al. 2018. A radiation of the ornate Caribbean 'smiley-faced spiders', with descriptions of 15 new species (Araneae: Theridiidae, Spintharus)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182: 758–790. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Fifteen New Species of 'Smiley-Faced' Spiders Discovered". Sci News. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Bawden, Tom (22 December 2014). "Following a plant and a spider, Sir David Attenborough now has a beetle named after him". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Collins, Adrian (23 December 2014). "David Attenborough is getting a beetle named after him". entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Greķe, Kristīne (2017). Telnov, Dmitry (ed.). "Taxonomic review of Diplommatinidae (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoroidea) from Wallacea and the Papuan Region". Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea. 3: 151–316, pls 19–47. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- PMID 27488497.
- ^ a b Laskow, Sarah (12 January 2016). "All the Creatures Named After David Attenborough". Slate. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- PMID 28794672.
- S2CID 257190990.
- ^ "Species named after Sir David Attenborough – in pictures". The Guardian. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ "Plesiosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide". Dinosauria.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Oldest Live-Birth Fossil Found; Fish Had Umbilical Cord". National Geographic News. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
- from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Gough, Myles (25 August 2016). "Kitten-sized extinct 'lion' named after David Attenborough". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- doi:10.26879/632. Archived(PDF) from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Fossil named after Sir David Attenborough". BBC News. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "What's in a name?". Oxford Dictionaries. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- PMID 29689791. Archived from the originalon 22 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ "New ocean plankton species named after BBC's Blue Planet series". University College London. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ISSN 2118-9773. Archived from the originalon 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- PMID 34249518.
- ^ Bicknell, Russell Dean Christopher (30 June 2021). "We discovered a new fossil species of horseshoe crab (and named it after David Attenborough)". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Fossil of believed first animal predator named after David Attenborough". The Globe and Mail. 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Medals and Awards" (PDF). Royal Geographical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ "No. 46310". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1974. p. 6799.
- ISBN 1-57958-394-6.
- ^ "UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS Statute 12". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "No. 50154". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 52563". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1991. p. 4.
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS (1992), Royal Academy of Arts, London". Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1995. p. 5.
- ^ "Conservation and biodiversity research wins international prize for British scientist". Imperial College London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- RSPB. 10 October 2015. Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Research – RTD info -N° 44 – February 2005 – European science – from Nobel to Descartes". 14 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- PMID 15689937.
- ^ "Cook's Log v27 no. 4" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "World Cultural Council / Winners – Education – Sir David Attenborough". 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "No. 57645". The London Gazette. 20 May 2005. p. 6631.
- ^ "Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest". Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Winners: National Television Awards". nationaltvawards.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Welcome to IEEM". IEEM. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ "BBC – Culture Show – Living Icons". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Peter Scott award – British Naturalists' Association". bna-naturalists.org. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "About the Fellowship – Society of Antiquaries of London". Society of Antiquaries of London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Progress Medal". The RPS. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Prince of Asturias Awards 2009". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ "Fonseca Prize 2010 – ConCiencia Programme – USC". usc.gal. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough honoured by Qld Museum". Queensland Government. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS is awarded the SHNH – Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal. – Society for the History of Natural History". Society for the History of Natural History. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "AIB announces Winners of 2011 AIBs International Media Awards | AIB". aib.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Cole, Alan. "Sir David Attenborough: IUCN award". Xperedon Charity News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Naturalist Sir David Attenborough Awarded Individual Peabody". uga.grady.edu. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "BritainAustralia Society Award 2017". Britain-Australia Society. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Moscow Society of Naturalists official site". Moip.msu.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Gold Medal-Award Recipients since its inception in 1972". RCGS. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "The Perfect World Award". The Perfect World Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b "LI to honour Sir David Attenborough with the Landscape Institute Medal". Landscape Institute. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "Davos 2019: Meet the Crystal Award winners". World Economic Forum. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ "David Attenborough: 'The Garden of Eden is no more'. Read his Davos speech in full". World Economic Forum. 21 January 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ "British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough awarded Indira Gandhi Peace Prize at online event". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough and the BBC Studios Natural History Unit awarded Chatham House Prize 2019 for ocean advocacy". Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ Low, Valentine (10 October 2020). "Attenborough gets a second knighthood". The Times (subscription). Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B3.
- ^ Programme, UN Environment (26 November 2020). "Lifetime Achievement". Champions of the Earth. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (28 July 2022). "2022 News & Documentary Emmy Nominations Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough voted UK's favourite TV presenter of all time". Yahoo! News. Yahoo. 9 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough: Bafta TV awards 2014". The Guardian. 3 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Rotten Tomatoes: David Attenborough". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Sir David Attenborough". Waterstones. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "David Attenborough Books – Biography and List of Works – Author of 'Life On Earth – a Natural History'". biblio.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
External links
- BBC Books David Attenborough website (archived)
- David Attenborough at the British Film Institute
- David Attenborough at IMDb
- David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. Archived 20 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- Wildfilmhistory.org biography. Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- BBC interviews with Attenborough in 1976 and 1998 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 May 2012)
- PBS interview with Attenborough in 1998
- People and Planet: David Attenborough, video of the 2011 RSA President's Lecture
- David Attenborough interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 27 December 1998.
- David Attenborough: humanity must come to its senses or face environmental disaster. Radio Times. 13 October 2016.