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Astronomer, educator and author Carl Sagan was perhaps the world's greatest popularizer of science, reaching millions of people through newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts. He is well-known for his work on the PBS series Cosmos (1980), the Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning show that became the most watched series in public-television history. This was seen by more than 500 million people in 60 countries. The accompanying book, "Cosmos" (1980), was on the New York Times bestseller list for 70 weeks and was the best-selling science book ever published in English.

Carl Edward Sagan was born November 9, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York. Having taught at Cornell University since 1968, Sagan received a bachelor's degree (1955) and a master's degree (1956), both in physics, and a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics (1960), all from the University of Chicago. He taught at Harvard University in the early 1960s before coming to Cornell, where he became a full professor in 1971. Sagan played a leading role in NASA's Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo expeditions to other planets. He received NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and twice for Distinguished Public Service and the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. His research focused on topics such as the greenhouse effect on Venus; windblown dust as an explanation for the seasonal changes on Mars; organic aerosols on Titan, Saturn's moon; the long-term environmental consequences of nuclear war; and the origin of life on Earth. A pioneer in the field of exobiology, he continued to teach graduate and undergraduate students in courses in astronomy and space sciences and in critical thinking at Cornell.

The breadth of his interests were made evident in October 1994, at a Cornell-sponsored symposium in honor of Sagan's 60th birthday. The two-day event featured speakers in areas of planetary exploration, life in the cosmos, science education, public policy and government regulation of science and the environment -- all fields in which Sagan had worked or had a strong interest. Sagan was the recipient of numerous awards in addition to his NASA recognition. He received 22 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities for his contributions to science, literature, education and the preservation of the environment and many awards for his work on the long-term consequences of nuclear war and reversing the nuclear arms race. Among his other awards were: the John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award of the American Astronautical Society; the Explorers Club 75th Anniversary Award; the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal of the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation and the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society. He also was the recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences, "for distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare".

Sagan was elected chairman of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, president of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union and chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For 12 years, he was editor of Icarus, the leading professional journal devoted to planetary research. He was co-founder of the Planetary Society, a 100,000-member organization and the largest space-interest group in the world. The society supports major research programs in the radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the investigation of near-Earth asteroids and, with the French and Russian space agencies, the development and testing of balloon and mobile robotic exploration of Mars. Sagan also was Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and was contributing editor of Parade magazine, where he published many articles about science and about the disease that he battled for the last two years of his life.

On December 20, 1996, Carl Sagan died at age 62 of pneumonia at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.

Despite being known for, and frequently quoted with, his famous phrase &quot;billions and billions...&quot;, Carl Sagan never actually said this during the entire single-season run of <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0081846/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Cosmos (1980)</a>. The actual phrase is &quot;billions UPON billions&quot;, and the complete quote which includes this often-misquoted phrase is &quot;A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars - billions upon billions of stars.&quot;.

Suffered from a rare blood disorder that led to cancer and ultimately his death.

Named 1981 Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association
&quot;in recognition of his work as an educator, skeptic, activist, and
populizer of science&quot;.

Five children: <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm2732191/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Dorion Sagan</a> and Jeremy Sagan from his first marriage, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0755986/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Nick Sagan</a> from his second marriage, and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm1960104/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Sasha Sagan</a> and Sam Sagan from his third marriage.

Received his bachelor&#39;s degree (1955) and his master&#39;s degree (1956), both in physics, from the University of Chicago.

He was elected into the 2009 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services in the Enterprise category.

Attended and graduated from Bahway High School from Bahway, New Jersey (1951).

He was the visual inspiration for Earl Meagan, a character from the V comics, based on the television series <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0086822/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">V (1984)</a>.

Grand-Cross of the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit of Portugal (23 November 1998).

Biography in: &quot;American National Biography&quot;. Supplement 1, pp. 537-540. New York: Oxford University Press (2002).

Received his Ph.D degree (Doctor of Philosophy) in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago (1960).

Following his death, he was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York.

He has an Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number of 9, which is among the lowest on the planet.

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Carl Sagan

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