🌞 Sir David Attenborough turns 100

This week, Sir David Attenborough turned 100, adding “centenarian” to his long list of titles. To celebrate, we’ve dedicated today’s Good Newsletter to the man, the myth, the legend. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

P.S. Happy Mother’s Day Mum! ❤️

David Attenborough is most recognised for his incredible contributions to science, nature and humanity. His engaging, curious and passionate presentation style has become iconic, and his voice has been a constant throughout all our lives.

The British broadcaster and natural historian has a career spanning eight decades, becoming the most recognisable voice in nature documentary filmmaking. He’s also the reason why tennis balls are yellow. 

Before we get into all the good news, let’s look at his background. 

Attenborough spent his childhood collecting fossils, insects, and dried seahorses in the East Midlands region of England. 

After studying natural sciences on a scholarship to Cambridge University, his TV career began completely by chance. Attenborough applied and was rejected from a sound radio job at the BBC, but a while later, he received a letter asking if he was interested in a new technology: television. He joined the BBC as a TV producer in 1952, and then produced a series in 1954 called Zoo Quest. Attenborough wasn’t meant to present, however, after host Jack Lester became sick, he stepped in as presenter.

He wasn’t to know it at the time, but he’d become one of the most distinctive voices in television. 

David Attenborough with an orangutan and her baby at London Zoo. April 1982. (Photo by mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

Attenborough’s career milestones are unlike anyone else’s. 

His documentaries (Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Life on Earth) have been viewed by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, cementing their status as some of the most-watched nature documentaries ever. 

His impact is so significant that Blue Planet II (2017) had the highest UK viewing figure for the whole year, with 14.1 million viewers tuning into episode 1, and even noticeably impacted internet speeds in certain countries. 

Blue Planet II has been credited with fundamentally shifting public awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans. After it aired, governments around the world started banning single-use plastics.

More than fifty species have been named after Attenborough, including a flowering plant (Sirdavidia), an extinct horseshoe crab (Attenborolimulus) and an extinct marine reptile (Attenborosaurus) named after him. 

In 2017, Australian Museum scientists named a newly identified Tasmanian semi-slug in his honour, called Attenborougharion rubicundus. When he found out, Attenborough said it might be “the most beautiful slug in the world.” 

Ahead of his centennial, Attenborough has had a wasp named after him, the Attenboroughnculus tau, discovered in Chile decades ago. The animal was lying in a drawer in London’s Natural History Museum when volunteer Augustijn De Ketelaere spotted its unusual characteristics.

In an incredible full circle moment, Dr Gavin Broad, who led the study of the insect, told The Guardian he watched Attenborough’s Life On Earth series “and resolved to be a taxonomist. Amazingly, I ended up a taxonomist, so I have Sir David to thank for that.”

Attenborough has had a really meaningful connection with the Australian natural world. 

He voiced an entire series about the Great Barrier Reef, platformed traditional First Nations cultural practices throughout his career, and journeyed through the Northern Territory for the 1960s series, Quest under Capricorn. 

Australian Environments On Screen has said Attenborough has “invited collective global engagement with the Australian environment in a way that no other individual has”. 

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David Attenborough’s climate advocacy covers three core concerns: overconsumption, environmental degradation that destroys protected natural areas, and continued reliance on fossil fuels.

During the 2020 bushfires, he told the BBC: “As I speak, south-east Australia is on fire. Why? Because the temperatures of the Earth are increasing."

He specifically criticised the Australian government's support for coal mines, saying it was sending a message to the world that Australia did not care about the environment. 

In the UK, the BBC is broadcasting a full week of special broadcasts. There will be events at British museums, nature walks and tree planting. On Friday, there was a live event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which you can watch on ABC iview, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra performing scores from iconic sequences from his documentaries. It featured the whole hall singing ‘happy birthday’ in unison. Priceless.

BBC presenter Kristy Young said: “Sir David's gift to the world has been a life spent exquisitely revealing Earth's wonders to us all.

Here in Australia, ABC iview will be showing his classic series throughout this month.

Attenborough’s legacy is impossible to put into words, but we’ll do our best. 

The director of the Natural History Museum in London, Doug Gurr, put it well — he said: "I think every single person who's seen anything that Sir David has done has been inspired to care about nature." 

The boy who collected fossils now has entire species and genera of animals named after him. 

His legacy lies in every government that has banned plastic bags. His legacy lies in children who wanted to be marine biologists after seeing his documentaries. His legacy lies in his documentaries, which conclude with a message of hope.

Someone commented on our post on Instagram that he is the most beloved celebrity on planet Earth (even animals love him!) and I would tend to agree. Happy birthday, Sir David!