Patrick Moore

Joined the British Astronomical Association at age eleven. At age 16 he began wearing a monocle. Lied about his age to join the RAF as Navigator in the Bomber Command during World War II. Met Albert Einstein and Orville Wright while on leave in New York. Fiancée Lorna, a nurse, was killed in London in 1943 by a bomb explosion, he never remarried. Rejected a grant to study at the University of Cambridge. Wrote his first book, Guide to the Moon in 1952. His first television appearance was in a debate about the existence  of flying saucers, Moore argued against Lord Dowding and other UFO proponents. Moore appears in the Guinness World Records book as the worlds longest-serving TV presenter having presented The Sky At Night from 1957 to 2012. Was awarded CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Awarded Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Awarded Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. Was the first Westerner to see photographic results of the Luna 3 probe. Presented the NASA Apollo 8, 9, and 10 missions. Moore was a keen pianist and accomplished xylophone player. Was friends with Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May.