Neil Armstrong
Apollo Astronaut

[Biography | Honorary Degree]

Neil Armstrong uttered one of most famous quotes of the 20th century, and in doing so, immortalized one of the most awe-inspiring events of any century. With “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon—a feat that only a decade before had seemed more the stuff of science fiction than front-page headlines.

But on July 20, 1969, the world watched, riveted, as Armstrong stepped from a lunar module known as the Eagle onto the moon’s surface, forever changing the human race’s notion of its place in the universe. The moon was no longer the stuff of poetry and scientific speculation. It was the planetary body next door, our stepping stone to the rest of the solar system. It changed life on Earth, too, in ways both measurable—spurring the development of thousands of new products based on “space-age technology,” for example—and immeasurable, providing hope for an often-beleaguered world.

“I believed that a successful lunar landing could, might, inspire men around the world to believe that impossible goals were possible, that the hope for solutions to humanity’s problems was not a joke,” Armstrong once said.

The 38-year-old astronaut who piloted the Eagle down to Tranquility Base had been flying most of his life. At age six, Armstrong took his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor “Tin Goose” in his native Ohio. At 15, he began taking flying lessons and had his student pilot’s license before he’d even passed his automobile driver’s test.

As a naval aviator, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions over North Korea. In 1952, he joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the precursor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As a research pilot, he was among the pioneers of high-speed aircraft, including most of the early supersonic jets, such as the X-1, X-14 and X-15, which he few 40 miles above the Earth at speeds of 4,000 miles per hour. He holds 12 world-performance records in various aircraft and spacecraft.

Armstrong officially became an astronaut in 1962. Four years later, as commander of the Gemini 8 spacecraft, he performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. And on the morning of July 16, 1969, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, mission commander Armstrong and fellow astronauts Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin climbed aboard Apollo 11 and began their historic journey to the moon.

Armstrong subsequently served as an administrator for NASA, and during the 1970s, he was a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California.

“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer,” he told an audience in 2000, speaking at the National Press Club during National Engineers Week. “Engineering is a profession which leaves its imprint on our society in countless ways,” he said. “Engineers are dedicated to solving problems and creating new, useful and efficient things.”

Armstrong is chairman emeritus of the EDO Corp., an aerospace systems manufacturing firm. He is a member of numerous professional societies and organizations and has been decorated by 17 countries. He has received many honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He served as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps, as a member of the National Commission of Space and as vice-chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident.

“The future is a bit foggy, but it’s not unreasonable to suggest that the 21st century will enjoy a rate of progress not unlike the 20th,” Armstrong said during his Press Club speech. “And a century hence, 2000 may be viewed as quite a primitive period in human history. It’s something to hope for.”

Tufts will award Armstrong an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree.