Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio on Aug.5, 1930, Neil Alden Armstrong had an early fascination with aircraft and worked at a nearby airport as a teenager. He took flying lessons at the age of 15 and received his pilot's license on his 16th birthday. A US Navy aviator, he flew 78 missions in the Korean War. He studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University in Indiana, and later earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California. __