Neil Alden Armstrong

Armstrong, Neil Alden (1930– ), U.S. astronaut, first human to set foot on the moon. He studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University (1947–55) with time out on active service in the Korean War. He joined NASA in 1962, commanding Gemini 8 (1966) and landing the Apollo 11 module on the moon on July 20, 1969.

See also: Astronaut.