Carl Sagan

1934 – 1996 · died at about 62^[1][2]

Science & Invention

Fun Facts About Carl Sagan

• Carl Sagan sent Apple a cease-and-desist letter over an internal code name honoring him. Apple's engineers retaliated by renaming the computer BHA, for Butt-Head Astronomer.^[1]
• Sagan never actually said billions and billions, the catchphrase linked to him; he said billions upon billions. Richard Feynman used the phrase many times in his physics lectures.^[1][3][4]
• As a young scientist, Sagan worked on Project A119, a secret US Air Force plan to detonate a nuclear warhead on the Moon. He later leaked two classified paper titles in a scholarship application.^[1]
• Harvard denied Sagan tenure in 1968, and his own undergraduate adviser, Harold Urey, wrote to the committee strongly recommending against him.^[1]
• Sagan received the National Academy of Sciences' highest award, the Public Welfare Medal, yet was denied membership in the academy, reportedly because his media fame made him unpopular.^[1]
• Under the pseudonym Mr. X, Sagan wrote an essay for a 1971 book saying marijuana had helped inspire some of his work. His authorship was revealed only after his death.^[1]
• Carl Sagan was alive at the same time as Maxim Gorky — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1934–1936).^[1][2][5][6]
• Carl Sagan shares a birthday with Hedy Lamarr: both were born on November 9.^[1][2][7][8]

Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, Sagan later moved to Cornell, where he was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. He played an active role in the Mariner, Viking and Voyager programs. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and several popular science books, starting with The Cosmic Connection. He won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for The Dragons of Eden.^[1]

Contemporaries

Bob Hope

62 yr overlap

Mother Teresa

62 yr overlap

Akira Kurosawa

62 yr overlap

Jacques Cousteau

62 yr overlap

Rosa Parks

62 yr overlap

Ingmar Bergman

62 yr overlap

Frank Sinatra

62 yr overlap

Ella Fitzgerald

62 yr overlap

Nelson Mandela

62 yr overlap

Edmund Hillary

62 yr overlap

Stan Lee

62 yr overlap

Marlon Brando

62 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Carl Sagan

When was Carl Sagan born?

Carl Sagan was born on November 9, 1934, and died on December 20, 1996.

How old was Carl Sagan at death?

Carl Sagan was born on November 9, 1934, and died on December 20, 1996, at age 62.

What was Carl Sagan known for?

Carl Sagan was known for: Cosmos, pale blue dot, science communicator. Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, Sagan later moved to Cornell, where he was the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. He played an active role in the Mariner, Viking and Voyager programs. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and several popular science books, starting with The Cosmic Connection. He won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for The Dragons of Eden.

Who was alive at the same time as Carl Sagan?

Carl Sagan's closest contemporary was Bob Hope. Their lives overlapped for 62 years.