Why is Buzz Aldrin important?

Learn more about Buzz Aldrin's 1969 trip to moon on the Apollo 11 mission. Biography.com tells you about Aldrin's early flying days and his life after the moon. read more

Buzz Aldrin was born on January 20, 1930, in Montclair, New Jersey. His father, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, encouraged his interest in flight. Aldrin became a fighter pilot and flew in the Korean War. read more

Among other things, his doctoral thesis worked out the mechanics of on-orbit rendezvous, without which he could not have walked on the moon. Also, he's awesome, and as an old man, he cold-cocked a jackass on camera, for the benefit of all mankind. read more