Neil
Alden Armstrong, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in
1930. During the Korean War he served as a pilot in the United States
Navy. Following the War, he attended Purdue University. After
graduation in 1955 he joined NASA as a civilian test pilot. He became
the first civilian astronaut in 1962. In 1955 he commanded the Gemini
8 mission.
In July 1969, Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. He became the first person to set foot on the moon. He was quoted as saying, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." His companions on the flight were Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin. He left NASA in 1971 to become a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
World Wide Web - http:// nasa.arc.gov