Sir David Attenborough has inspired generations to learn more about the natural world, bringing adventure and wonder, dinosaurs and polar bears, into the homes of millions of television viewers.

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His reassuring, hushed and reverential whisper has narrated every journey, as he surveys almost every aspect of life on Earth.

Born on May 8, 1926, David Attenborough spent his childhood collecting fossils and insects. Picture Getty Images

He sometimes seems barely able to contain his excitement as he watches incredible behaviour in the animal kingdom.

Born on May 8 1926, his interest in nature started as a child when he collected fossils. He went on to gain a Natural Sciences degree from Clare College, Cambridge, after attending Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester.

He served in the Royal Navy from 1947 to 1949 before joining the BBC but was initially discouraged from appearing on screen because his bosses thought his teeth were too big.

Despite their dental misgivings, he launched his Zoo Quest series in 1954.

Now arguably the world's most famous naturalist, he has proved to be as brave and imaginative as he is warm and conscientious.

He writes his own scripts, and although he says he dislikes writing, he won a major literary prize for his book The Life Of Birds before the series even screened.

A committed Londoner, he is equally at home in the wildest and most remote parts of the world.

His combination of charm and an ability to put across his wide knowledge in an attractive and compelling way has been much-imitated but rarely replicated.

Long before environmental issues were making daily headlines, he was a fervent eco campaigner both on and off screen.

In 1955 with son Robert, a longtime lecturer at ANU. Picture Getty Images

His 2000 series State Of The Planet and Are We Changing Planet Earth? in 2006 dealt heavily with environmental issues such as global warming.

As a younger man, he famously often travelled in economy class on flights, only accepting upgrades if they were extended to his crew as well.

When he turned 75, the BBC reportedly told him he should fly in business class.

He still frequently diverts praise about his work to the people behind the camera.

With a giant atlas moth to promote the construction of London's Butterfly World in 2008. Pictures Getty Images

Sir David has shown a lack of fear in alarming situations, including being attacked by an army of ants and an amorous capercaillie.

Having studied life in all its various forms for more than 70 years, his attitude to the natural world has changed.

When his career began, wild creatures were seen as curiosities to be tracked, captured and brought back to British zoos to be stared at, and Zoo Quest reinforced that Victorian notion.

Attenborough's centenary is being marked with a week of special broadcasts, museums events, nature walks and tree planting. Picture Getty Images

In the series he would travel with staff from London Zoo to a tropical country to capture an animal for the zoo's collection.

In his much later series Attenborough: 60 Years In The Wild, the transition to a more respectful attitude towards animals and the natural world was a dominant theme.

The brother of the actor Lord (Richard) Attenborough, who died in 2014, Sir David's pioneering efforts on screen have been matched by those off camera, as the man responsible for introducing colour television into Britain after he became controller of BBC Two in 1965.

Four years later, he was appointed director of programs with editorial responsibility for both of the BBC's TV networks. He introduced popular sports like snooker to TV as well as the hit series The Forsyte Saga.

But he could not spend too long behind a desk and even though he was tipped for the post of director general, he quit management in 1973 to resume program-making, declaring: "I haven't even seen the Galapagos Islands."

It is estimated that 500 million people worldwide watched his amazingly successful 13-part series Life On Earth, which was regarded as the most ambitious series ever produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.

He quit BBC management in 1973 to resume program-making. Picture Getty Images

Five years later came the sequel, The Living Planet, in 1984 followed by the final part of this trilogy, The Trials Of Life.

In 1993 he presented the spectacular Life In The Freezer, which was a celebration of Antarctica, and two years later, the epic The Private Life Of Plants.

It was in 1996 that he fulfilled a lifelong ambition to make a special film about the elusive birds of paradise, entitled, appropriately, Attenborough In Paradise.

Sharing a laugh with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2019. Picture Getty Images

In 1997, he narrated the award-winning Wildlife Specials, to mark 40 years of the BBC Natural History Unit, and the following year he completed an epic 10-part series for the BBC, The Life Of Birds.

In 2001 he narrated The Blue Planet, followed by The Life of Mammals in 2002.

Life in the Undergrowth came in 2005, followed by the groundbreaking Planet Earth in 2006, a series five years in the making, the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and the first to be filmed in high definition.

Life in Cold Blood followed in 2008, while Frozen Planet arrived in 2011, and in 2013 he brought the six-part series Africa to our screens.

Even as he approached his 90th year, Sir David continued at a prodigious pace, bringing more about the wonders of planet Earth to the masses.

In 2016 he returned to the Great Barrier Reef for a three-part series and he told the story of the fossil discovery and reconstruction in Argentina of the largest known dinosaur, a new species of titanosaur, in Attenborough And The Giant Dinosaur.

Planet Earth II, a series of six one-hour natural history programs, aired in 2016 and was appointment viewing.

The show even won a Bafta for the must-see moment of the year, after tense footage showing a newly hatched iguana narrowly escaping racer snakes had the nation on the edge of their seats.

While most of his peers settled into retirement, he continued to work at an impressive rate through his 90s.

His 2018 series Dynasties, looking into the secret lives of animals as they fight for their families, was also a hit, and a sequel appeared in 2022.

In 2019, Sir David made his first major series for Netflix, Our Planet, which explored Earth's habitats, biodiversity, and the impact of climate change on all living creatures.

Other shows included A Perfect Planet, Life In Colour, The Green Planet, Wild Isles and Prehistoric Planet, as well as a Frozen Planet sequel.

Planet Earth III came in 2023, using lightweight drones, high-speed cameras, remotely operated deep-sea submersibles and other new technologies to explore previously unseen landscapes.

Even as he approaches his 100th birthday, he is a regular fixture on television.

Most recently he has fronted Wild London, in which he explores the wildlife of his hometown, from urban deer to rooftop peregrines.

His programs have earned him awards from all over the world. In April 2005, he was awarded the Order of Merit by the Queen, in recognition of exceptional distinction in the arts, sciences and other areas.

He was knighted in 1985. Over the years he has received numerous honorary degrees and a number of prestigious awards, including Fellowship of the Royal Society.

In 1950 he married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel, who died in 1997, and the couple had a son and a daughter.

As he turns 100, Sir David travels less now, but is still a singular figure in British broadcasting and in the public consciousness. AP

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