A considerable amount actually. Please don’t begin reading this at work. There is a lot of material here and reading through it will take you a bit of time. If your boss catches you it could get you in trouble, as it’s hard to imagine that this won’t be a distraction from you job.
Besides the reading factor alone however, there is a substantive amount to contrast between each individual, and much to meditate on. These differences extend beyond merely career, education, upbringing, etc and broach upon the very Weltanschauung of these men. If you operate heavy machinery, you may find yourself distracted when pondering said differences somewhat extensively, and this could be diverting enough to actually put you in danger if your mind begins to wander at work. Please for your own safety, leave this thread until you get home. It’s an absorbing topic, but your wellbeing is of higher priority.
A basic cursory outlook at the mini bios of these two immediately presents us with 187 distinct differences, however, these may be simply “cosmetic” so to speak, and appear as the same differences that either individual would have with any other person. I believe upon further investigation and inquiry, many more will become apparent.
From Armstrong’s Wikipedia:
For other people named Neil Armstrong, see Neil Armstrong (disambiguation). Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut, engineer, and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. After the war, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Purdue University and served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station, where he logged over 900 flights. He later completed graduate studies at the University of Southern California.
USAF / NASA astronaut Born Neil Alden Armstrong August 5, 1930 Near Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S. Died August 25, 2012 (aged 82) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Previous occupation Naval aviator, test pilot Alma mater Purdue University, B.S. 1955 University of Southern California, M.S. 1970 Rank Lieutenant (junior grade), United States Navy Time in space 8 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds Selection 1958 USAF Man In Space Soonest 1960 USAF Dyna-Soar 1962 NASA Group 2 Total EVAs 1 Total EVA time 2 hours 31 minutes Missions Gemini 8, Apollo 11 Mission insignia Ge08Patch orig.png Apollo 11 insignia.png Awards United States Naval Aviator/Astronaut Insignia NASA Civilian Astronaut Wings Presidential Medal of Freedom Congressional Space Medal of Honor A participant in the U.S. Air Force’s Man in Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs, Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. He made his first space flight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA’s first civilian astronaut to fly in space. He performed the first docking of two spacecraft, with pilot David Scott. This mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his reentry control fuel to prevent a dangerous spin caused by a stuck thruster, in the first in-flight space emergency.
Armstrong’s second and last spaceflight was as commander of Apollo 11, the first manned Moon landing mission in July 1969. Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface and spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the Command/Service Module. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978. Armstrong and his former crewmates received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.
Armstrong died in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82, after complications from coronary artery bypass surgery.
Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 near Wapakoneta, Ohio, the son of Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel. He was of German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, and had a younger sister, June, and a younger brother, Dean. His father worked as an auditor for the Ohio state government; the family moved around the state repeatedly after Armstrong’s birth, living in 20 towns. Armstrong’s love for flying grew during this time, having gotten off to an early start when his father took his two-year-old son to the Cleveland Air Races. When he was five, he experienced his first airplane flight in Warren, Ohio on July 20, 1936 when he and his father took a ride in a Ford Trimotor, also known as the “Tin Goose”.
His father’s last move was in 1944, back to Wapakoneta. Armstrong attended Blume High School and took flying lessons at the grassy Wapakoneta airfield. He earned a student flight certificate on his 16th birthday, then soloed later in August; all before he had a driver’s license.Armstrong was active in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. As an adult, he was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with its Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award. On July 18, 1969, while flying toward the Moon inside the Columbia, Armstrong greeted the Scouts: “I’d like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at Farragut State Park in Idaho having a National Jamboree there this week; and Apollo 11 would like to send them best wishes”. Houston replied: “Thank you, Apollo 11. I’m sure that, if they didn’t hear that, they’ll get the word through the news. Certainly appreciate that.” Among the very few personal items that Neil Armstrong carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge.
In 1947, at age 17, Armstrong began studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue University. He was the second person in his family to attend college. He was also accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The only engineer he knew (who had attended MIT) dissuaded him from attending, telling Armstrong that it was not necessary to go all the way to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a good education.
His college tuition was paid for under the Holloway Plan. Successful applicants committed to two years of study, followed by two years of flight training and one year of service in the U.S. Navy as an aviator, then completion of the final two years of their bachelor’s degree. Candidates had to promise to not marry until graduation, signed the “Aviation Guarantee” to serve on Active Duty for at least four years, and would not receive a promotion to Ensign until two years after they received their Midshipman’s warrant.
From Jackson’s Wikipedia:
“The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson He began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. His music videos, including those of “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller” from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jackson’s 1987 album Bad spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man in the Mirror”, and “Dirty Diana”, becoming the first album to have five number-one singles in the nation. He continued to innovate with videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres.
Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jackson’s other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world’s best-selling albums. He is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame as the only dancer from pop and rock music. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time,13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards—more than any other artist—including the “Artist of the Century” and “Artist of the 1980s”, 13 number-one singles in the United States during his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide.”Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when “Love Never Felt So Good” reached number nine on May 21, 2014.Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, the Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
Aspects of Jackson’s personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his comeback concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson’s death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson the top-earning dead celebrity, with earnings of $825 million in 2016, the highest yearly amount ever recorded by the publication.
Jackson is also remembered for his generous philanthropy and his pioneering efforts in charitable fundraising within the entertainment industry.
I look forward to the discussion.