Washington, July 18 (DPA) In the four decades since the world watched his 'one giant leap for mankind', Neil Armstrong hasn't had much use for the limelight.

Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon July 20, 1969, during NASA's Apollo 11 mission. But he once said that going to the moon didn't interest him nearly as much as the technology that got him there.

Born in 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong flew in his first plane at age six. At 15 he'd started flying, working odd jobs around his town to pay for lessons at a local airport. He got a pilot's licence before he could drive a car, according to his NASA biography.

After being called to active duty in the US Navy in 1949, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions during the Korean War, and later worked as an engineer and test pilot.

He became an astronaut in 1962 and flew his first space mission in 1966. His trip to the moon required four years of training, according to NASA.

His first steps on the lunar surface were shown on live television in homes around the world, immortalising his famous observation, 'That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind'.