Neil Armstrong Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who was the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. A graduate of Purdue University, Armstrong studied aeronautical engineering with his college tuition paid for by the U.S. Navy under the Holloway Plan. He became a midshipman in 1949, and a naval aviator the following year. He saw action in the Korean War, flying the Grumman F9F Panther from the aircraft carrier . In September 1951, he was hit by
Neil Armstrong political parties, he declined the offers. He described his political leanings as favoring states' rights and opposing the United States acting as the "world's policeman". When Armstrong applied at a local Methodist church to lead a Boy Scout troop in the late 1950s, he gave his religious affiliation as "deist". His mother later said that Armstrong's religious views caused her grief and distress in later life, as she was more religious. In the early 1980s, Armstrong was the subject of a hoax saying that he converted to Islam after hearing the "adhan", the Muslim call to prayer, while walking on