Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and historian and is known as the first person to walk on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in a small spacecraft that had been sent to the moon using the Saturn V rocket. The rocket was called Apollo 11. They both walked on the moon, and millions of people watched and heard this event on live television.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical engineering from the Purdue University and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. In 1970 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Purdue University. From 1971 to 1979 he became professor for aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
In 2005 he received the Honorary Doctorate of letters from the University of Southern California. The Houston Chronicle newspaper reported on October 1, 2006, that Australian computer programmer Peter Shann Ford found the missing "a" from Armstrong's famous first words on the Moon. Ford reported that he downloaded the audio recording from a NASA web site and analyzed it using editing software originally intended for use with hearing disabled people. Armstrong is said to have been pleased with Ford's finding of the missing "a".