Biography of Carl Sagan

Born in Brooklyn, Carl Edward Sagan fell in love with the stars as a child visiting the 1939 World’s Fair. A brilliant astronomer and communicator, he helped design NASA’s Pioneer and Voyager missions, placing messages from Earth into the cosmos. Through his series Cosmos—seen by over half a billion people—and books like The Demon-Haunted World, Carl shared the wonder of science with poetic clarity: “We are made of star-stuff.” A gentle advocate for nuclear disarmament and environmental care, he urged humanity to cherish our pale blue dot. He passed peacefully on December 20, 1996. His sense of awe continues to light the night sky for dreamers everywhere.