The character arc of Neil deGrasse Tyson
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 5 October 1958 in New York City. Between then and now sit a scholarship to see the total solar eclipse of June 1973, a day with Carl Sagan in 1975, The Bronx High School of Science in 1976, Harvard in 1980, a master's at Texas in 1983, Princeton from 1991, the Hayden Planetarium in 1994, its directorship in 1996, a department founded in 1997, a 210 million dollar rebuild completed in 2000, a podcast from 2009, Cosmos in 2014 and a medal in 2015. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Neil deGrasse Tyson?
Sagan invited him to Ithaca.
He was born in New York City in 1958. His father, Cyril deGrasse Tyson, was a sociologist and the first director of Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited; his mother, Sunchita Maria Tyson, was a gerontologist. At fourteen he received a scholarship from the Explorers Club of New York to view the total solar eclipse of June 1973 aboard a ship. At seventeen, Carl Sagan invited him to spend a day in Ithaca, an invitation recorded in Sagan's 1975 calendar. He graduated from The Bronx High School of Science in 1976, where he was captain of the wrestling team and editor in chief of the Physical Science Journal.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in physics at Harvard College in 1980 and a Master of Arts in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983. From 1991 to 1994 he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University, and in 1994 he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer.
In 1996 he became director of the planetarium and oversaw its 210 million dollar reconstruction, completed in 2000. He founded the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History in 1997 and has been a research associate there since 2003. From 1995 to 2005 he wrote monthly essays for a magazine column, some later collected in his books Death by Black Hole in 2007 and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry in 2017. He hosted a science series on PBS from 2006 to 2011, has hosted a weekly podcast since 2009 with a television spin-off from 2015, and in 2014 hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a successor to Carl Sagan's 1980 series. The National Academy of Sciences awarded him the Public Welfare Medal in 2015 for his extraordinary role in exciting the public about the wonders of science.
The moments
Neil deGrasse Tyson's timeline.
The 1970s
A scholarship to an eclipse
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fourteen years old, sent to sea to watch an eclipse.
A day with Carl Sagan
Milestone, and it changed everything. An afternoon somebody famous gave to a seventeen year old.
The Bronx High School of Science
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Captain of the wrestling team, and editor of the science journal.
The 1980s
Physics at Harvard
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A physics degree, four years after the Bronx.
Astronomy at Texas
Milestone, and it changed his direction. From physics to astronomy, which is the subject he wanted.
The 1990s
Princeton, as a postdoctoral
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Three years of research, before the public part began.
Research, or the planetarium
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: take the planetarium, taken, or stay on the research track. He became director of the planetarium in 1996, founded a department in 1997, and hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey in 2014.
The Hayden Planetarium
Milestone, and it changed everything. A staff scientist at a planetarium, which is where the whole second half starts.
Director at thirty seven
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years from staff scientist to running it.
A department founded
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A whole department, founded from nothing.
The 2000s
Death by Black Hole
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Ten years of monthly essays, collected into a book.
A weekly podcast
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A weekly podcast, kept up since 2009.
The 2010s
Sagan's successor
Milestone, and it changed everything. The sequel to the series made by the man who gave him a day.
The Public Welfare Medal
Milestone, and it changed everything. A medal for getting other people interested.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving started with somebody giving a teenager a day: Sagan made time for a seventeen year old, and in 2014 that teenager presented the sequel to Sagan's series.
What he wrote
Books by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- 1989
Merlin's Tour of the Universe
Built from material he had been writing in a magazine column, and his first book for a general reader.
- 1998
Just Visiting This Planet
A second book from the same column, published while he was running the Hayden Planetarium.
- 2007
Death by Black Hole
Collected from ten years of monthly essays written between 1995 and 2005, which is an unusually long apprenticeship for a bestseller.
- 2017
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
The universe explained for somebody with a commute, and the book that put astrophysics on airport shelves.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His turned on one afternoon somebody gave him when he was seventeen. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Neil deGrasse Tyson's character arc?
Did Neil deGrasse Tyson meet Carl Sagan?
What does Neil deGrasse Tyson do at the Hayden Planetarium?
Where did Neil deGrasse Tyson study?
What books has Neil deGrasse Tyson written?
What award has Neil deGrasse Tyson received?
Where does this timeline of Neil deGrasse Tyson's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Neil deGrasse Tyson, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Harvard College and University of Texas at Austin degree records, 1980 and 1983.
- National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, 2015.