Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough has been President of Butterfly Conservation since 1998.

Sir David's interest in butterflies and moths has manifested itself in programmes such as Life in the Undergrowth.

He helped pioneer wildlife documentaries - his very first nature programme for the BBC was Zoo Quest, which launched in 1954.

• In 1965 Sir David became Controller of BBC2, where he was responsible for the introduction of colour television into Britain
• In January 1969, he was appointed Director of Programmes for both of the BBC's television networks
• He was responsible for commissioning such landmarkprogrammes as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Match of the Day, Pot Black, The Likely Lads, Not Only... But Also, Horizon and Man Alive
• Sir David chose to return to programme-making and the acclaimed series that followed included Life on Earth, The Living Planet, The Private Life of Plants, Life in the Freezer, Life of Birds and The Blue Planet
• He was knighted in 1985 and was awarded the Order of Merit by the Queen in 2005
• In 2004 a BBC programme jointly profiled Sir David and Butterfly Conservation's first President, the broadcaster and naturalist Sir Peter Scott