Neil Armstrong

Born

August 5, 1930, Washington Township, near Wapakoneta (Auglaize County) source

Died

August 25, 2012, Fairfield (Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital) (Butler County) source

Buried

Cremated; ashes scattered in the Atlantic Ocean from USS Philippine Sea on 2012-09-14 source

Also known as

Neil Armstrong

Education

Blume High School, Wapakoneta, OH

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, to 1955, B.S. aeronautical engineering

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, to 1970, M.S. aerospace engineering

Known as

Aviation, Space

Organizations

NASA

Neil Armstrong was born on a farm in Washington Township, Auglaize County, in 1930. His father Stephen was a state auditor, and the family moved about sixteen times around Ohio during his childhood. He went to Blume High School in Wapakoneta and learned to fly as a teenager.

He became a naval aviator in 1950 and flew in Korea. He earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue in 1955 and later a master's from the University of Southern California. He worked as a research test pilot at Edwards in California, joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1962, and commanded Gemini 8 in 1966.

On July 20, 1969, as commander of Apollo 11, he became the first person to walk on the Moon.

He left NASA in 1971 and taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He died in Fairfield, Ohio, in 2012.

• Washington Township, near Wapakoneta (1930)
  birthplace Auglaize County · source
• Warren (1936)
  childhood home area (family lived in Champion); first airplane ride at Warren Airways Trumbull County · source
• Wapakoneta, 601 W. Benton Street (1944-1947)
  boyhood home; Blume High School; flying lessons at Port Koneta airfield Auglaize County · source
• Cleveland (NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) (1955)
  research engineer before moving to Edwards, California Cuyahoga County · source
• Cincinnati (University of Cincinnati) (1971-1979)
  professor of aerospace engineering Hamilton County · source
• Lebanon
  longtime residence; dairy farm Warren County · source
• Fairfield (2012)
  place of death Butler County · source

1. 1930 Born August 5 in Washington Township near Wapakoneta, Auglaize County. source
2. 1936 On July 26, at age six, took his first airplane ride from Warren Airways on Parkman Road in Warren. source
3. 1944 Family bought the house at 601 W. Benton Street in Wapakoneta. source
4. 1946 Earned his student pilot certificate on his 16th birthday at Port Koneta airfield, before he had a driver's licence. source
5. 1947 Graduated from Blume High School in Wapakoneta. source
6. 1955 Joined the NACA at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (Cleveland), then moved later that year to the High-Speed Flight Station in California. source
7. 1966 On April 13, after Gemini 8, Governor Jim Rhodes announced plans for a 'Neil Armstrong Airport' at a homecoming event. source
8. 1967 Neil Armstrong Airport near New Knoxville was dedicated on October 8. source
9. 1969 On July 20 became the first person to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 11. source
10. 1969 On July 21, with Armstrong still on the Moon, plans were announced for a museum in Wapakoneta; Governor Rhodes pledged $500,000 and the community raised $528,313.55. source
11. 1971 Left NASA in August to become professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught until 1979. source
12. 1972 The Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta was dedicated on July 20, with Armstrong and Tricia Nixon attending. source
13. 2005 His barber of 20 years sold clippings of his hair for $3,000; Armstrong threatened legal action unless the money went to charity, and it was donated. source
14. 2012 Died August 25 in Fairfield, Ohio, after complications from bypass surgery; a private funeral was held in Cincinnati. source
15. 2020 NASA's Plum Brook Station near Sandusky was renamed the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility. source
16. 2026 The Benton Street boyhood home was listed for sale at $430,000; the museum said it could not afford to buy it. source

• First person on the Moon, 20 July 1969
• Commander Apollo 11
• Taught at University of Cincinnati 1971-79
• Apollo 11 commander, 1969
• Gemini 8 command pilot, 1966

• First person on the Moon (1969)

• Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1969
• Congressional Space Medal of Honor, 1978
• Congressional Gold Medal, 2009
• Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, named for him
• National Aviation Hall of Fame, 1979

• Armstrong Air & Space Museum (Wapakoneta, Auglaize County) source
• Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport (AXV) (New Knoxville, Auglaize County) source
• NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (formerly Plum Brook Station) (near Sandusky, Erie County) source

• father: Stephen Koenig Armstrong
• mother: Viola Louise Engel
• wife: Janet Shearon (m. 1956, div. 1994)
• wife: Carol Knight (m. 1994)

• Armstrong Air and Space Museum (museum)
  500 S Apollo Dr, Wapakoneta, Auglaize County ZIP 45895 · Wapakoneta · Auglaize County

• Born: Washington Township (near Wapakoneta), Auglaize County ZIP 45895 · Washington Township · Auglaize County
• Worked: Cincinnati, Hamilton County (University of Cincinnati) Cincinnati · Hamilton County
• Museum: Wapakoneta, Auglaize County (500 Apollo Dr (Armstrong Air and Space Museum; address from prior knowledge)) ZIP 45895 · Wapakoneta · Auglaize County

• Some earlier accounts left out his Purdue degree; Wikipedia states he earned a bachelor of science there in 1955.

• John Glenn 1921-2016

• Neil Armstrong (Wikipedia)

• Neil Armstrong (Wikipedia) birth Washington Twp near Wapakoneta, death Fairfield OH, UC 1971-79
• nasa.gov: neil a armstrong
• nasa.gov: former astronaut neil a armstrong
• nasa.gov: center names evolve to honor people and achievements in research
• armstrongmuseum.org: our history
• Wikipedia: Armstrong Air & Space Museum
• Wikipedia: Neil Armstrong Airport
• hoodline.com: wapakoneta home where neil armstrong first flew hits market museum can t buy it
• aopa.org: wapakoneta ohio
• trulytrumbull.com: first flight lunar module
• purdue.edu: purdue offers rides in plane model in which armstrong took first flight
• Wikimedia Commons: Neil Armstrong pose

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-14.

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