Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who has the distinction of being the first human to set foot on the moon was born today August 5 in 1930. Armstrong and fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin were the first human beings to walk on the moon's surface. Neil Armstrong's famous epigram, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" is etched in everyone's memory even to this day. As a tribute to the legendary man behind the Apollo moon landing, we present a collection of rare facts on his life and career...

Neil Armstrong. Pic/AFP

The date July 20, which marks the Apollo 11 moon landing and Neil Armstrong's 'giant leap' is also significant for another reason. It was on that day in 1936, when a 5-year-old Armstrong experienced his first airplane flight in Warren, Ohio, when he and his father took a ride in a Ford Trimotor, also known as the 'Tin Goose'.

On his 16th birthday, Neil Armstrong earned a student flight certificate. He then soloed later in August; all before he had a driver's license.

In 2013, a popular science website's photo gallery included a picture that Neil Armstrong took of Buzz Aldrin but his own image is visible on Aldrin's helmet as one of the best astronaut selfies.

Pad leader Guenter Wendt presented Neil Armstrong with a crescent moon carved out of Styrofoam on July 16, 1969. Wendt described it as a key to the Moon. In return, Armstrong gave Wendt a ticket for a "space taxi" "good between two planets".