Portrait of Neil Armstrong Courtesy of NASA

Neil Armstrong is an American astronaut who was born in Ohio in 1930. Before entering the space program, he was a pilot for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, flying gliders, helicopters, and jets.

Armstrong was command pilot of the Gemini 8 space mission in 1966. Then, in July of 1969, Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 lunar mission and made history by becoming the first person to walk on the moon. He is quoted as saying, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".