Editing Neil Armstrong (section)

== Early life and education ==
Armstrong was born in rural [[Washington Township, Auglaize County, Ohio|Washington Township]], in [[Auglaize County, Ohio]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Ohio |first=Butler County Department of Health |title=English: This is a faithful digital scan of the official birth certificate of Neil Alden Armstrong, issued by the Butler County Department of Health on March 31, 2025. Certified by local county registrar, Kathy Ripley. |date=1930-08-06 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neil_Alden_Armstrong_-_Original_birth_certificate.jpg |access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref> on August 5, 1930, the son of Viola Louise (née Engel) and Stephen Koenig Armstrong. He was of German, English, Scots-Irish, and Scottish descent.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=13, 20}}<ref>{{cite news |first=Maureen |last=Coleman |title=A Giant Leap For An Ulsterman |date=August 28, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Belfast Telegraph]] |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/a-giant-leap-for-an-ulsterman-tributes-to-neil-armstrong-the-astronaut-who-was-first-to-walk-on-the-moon-28785887.html |access-date=November 14, 2018}}</ref> He is a descendant of [[Clan Armstrong]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Ian |last=Harvey |date=April 15, 2019 |title=Neil Armstrong's Last Name Posed a Problem in his Ancestral Scottish Hometown |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/15/armstrong/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=thevintagenews |language=en}}</ref> He had a younger sister, June, and a younger brother, Dean. His father was an [[auditor]] for the [[Government of Ohio|Ohio state government]],<ref>{{cite news |date=May 24, 2012 |title=Neil Armstrong grants rare interview to accountants organization |language=en-US |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neil-armstrong-grants-rare-interview-to-accountants-organization-1.1289392 |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107163955/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neil-armstrong-grants-rare-interview-to-accountants-organization-1.1289392 |archive-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref> and the family moved around the state repeatedly, living in 16 towns over the next 14 years.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=29}} Armstrong's love for flying grew during this time, having started at the age of two when his father took him to the [[National Air Races|Cleveland Air Races]]. When he was five or six, he 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").<ref>{{cite web |title=Project Apollo: Astronaut Biographies |publisher=NASA |url=https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/astrobios.htm#Armstrong |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428105817/http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/astrobios.htm#Armstrong |archive-date=April 28, 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=45|ps=. "According to a volunteer group in Warren, Ohio that had worked through the 2000s to turn the Warren Airport into a historical exhibit, the date of Neil's inaugural flight was July 26, 1936. If that date is correct, Neil was still only five when he experienced his first airplane ride, his sixth birthday not coming for ten more days." }}

The family's last move was in 1944 and took them back to Wapakoneta, where Armstrong attended [[Blume High School]] and took flying lessons at the Wapakoneta airfield.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=49–50}} He earned a student flight certificate on his 16th birthday, then [[First solo flight|soloed]] in August, all before he had a driver's license.{{sfn|Koestler-Grack|2010|p=14}} He was an active [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout]] and earned the rank of [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]].{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=38}} As an adult, he was recognized by the Scouts with their [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] and [[Silver Buffalo Award]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23385802/the_morning_call/ |title=1st Man on the Moon Gets National Eagle Award |last1=Airgood |first1=Glenn |newspaper=The Morning Call |location=Allentown, Pennsylvania |date=February 16, 1973 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scouting.org/awards/silver-buffalo/previous-winners/1979-1970/ |title=Silver Buffalo Award Winners 1979–1970 |publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date=September 2, 2018}}</ref> While flying toward the Moon on July 18, 1969, he sent his regards to attendees at the [[National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America)|National Scout jamboree]] in Idaho.<ref>{{cite web |quote="I'd like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at [[Farragut State Park]] in Idaho having a [[National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America)|National Jamboree]] there this week; and Apollo 11 would like to send them best wishes". [[Capsule communicator]] [[Charles Duke]] 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." |title=Apollo 11 – Day 3, part 2: Entering Eagle – Transcript |publisher=NASA |date=April 11, 2010 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/09day3-entering-eagle.html |access-date=February 14, 2022 }}</ref> Among the few personal items that he carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Scouting salutes Neil Armstrong |publisher=World Organization of the Scout Movement |url=http://oldsite.scout.org/en/information_events/news/world_scouting_salutes_neil_armstrong |access-date=July 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004807/http://oldsite.scout.org/en/information_events/news/world_scouting_salutes_neil_armstrong |archive-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref>

At age 17, in 1947, Armstrong began studying [[Aerospace engineering|aeronautical engineering]] at [[Purdue University]] in [[West Lafayette, Indiana]]; he was the second person in his family to attend college. Armstrong was also accepted to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT),{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=55–56}} but he resolved to go to Purdue after watching a [[American football|football]] game between the [[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue Boilermakers]] and the [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State Buckeyes]] at the [[Ohio Stadium]] in 1945 in which quarterback [[Bob DeMoss]] led the Boilermakers to a sound victory over the highly regarded Buckeyes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The untold story of how Neil Armstrong chose Purdue |website=wlfi.com |url=https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/The-untold-story-of-how-Neil-Armstrong-chose-Purdue-512192321.html |access-date=July 5, 2019 |archive-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704035141/https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/The-untold-story-of-how-Neil-Armstrong-chose-Purdue-512192321.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> An uncle who attended MIT had also advised him that he could receive a good education without going all the way to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. His college tuition was paid for under the [[James L. Holloway, Jr.#Holloway Plan|Holloway Plan]]. Successful applicants committed to two years of study, followed by two years of flight training and one year of service as an aviator in the [[U.S. Navy]], then completion of the final two years of their [[bachelor's degree]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=55–56}} Armstrong did not take courses in naval science, nor did he join the [[Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=58}}