Bill Nye

William Sanford "Bill" Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television presenter, actor, writer, scientist, and former mechanical engineer, best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children's science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998) and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.

Early life and education

Nye was born on November 27, 1955, in Washington, D.C., to Jacqueline (née Jenkins; 1921–2000), a codebreaker during World War II, and Edwin Darby "Ned" Nye (1917–1997), also a World War II veteran, whose experience without electricity in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp led him to become a sundial enthusiast. His maternal grandmother was French, from Dancevoir.

After attending Lafayette Elementary and Alice Deal Junior High in the city, he was accepted to the private Sidwell Friends School on a partial scholarship and graduated in 1973. He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University (where he took an astronomy class taught by Carl Sagan) and graduated with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1977. Nye occasionally returns to Cornell as a guest-lecturer of introductory-level astronomy and human ecology classes.

Bill Nye (disambiguation)

Bill Nye (born 1955) is an American scientist known for his role in Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Bill Nye may also refer to:

See also

Edgar Wilson Nye

Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye (August 25, 1850 – February 22, 1896) was a distinguished American journalist, who later became widely known as a humorist. He was also the founder and editor of the Laramie Boomerang.

Biography

Nye was born in Shirley, Maine. He was educated at River Falls, Wisconsin, moved to Wyoming Territory, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. He began early to contribute humorous sketches to the newspapers, using the pen name of "Bill Nye" after a character in a famous poem by Bret Harte popularly known as "The Heathen Chinee". He was connected with various western journals, and afterward settled in New York City.

The Boomerang was founded while Nye was the postmaster of Laramie City, Wyoming Territory. It launched him to national fame, gaining subscribers in every state and some foreign countries. His humor was uniquely American. In 1892, he wrote in The Century Magazine:

Some of his works include Bill Nye's Comic History of the United States, Baled Hay, Remarks, Bill Nye and Boomerang, Bill Nye's History of England, and Bill Nye's Red Book.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bill Nye the Science Guy is an American live action educational comedy television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998 and was hosted by Bill Nye. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations.

Each of the 100 half-hour episodes aims to teach a specific topic in a natural science to a preteen audience.

Synopsis

Bill's TV persona is a tall and slender scientist wearing a blue lab coat and a bow-tie. He mixes the serious science of everyday things with fast-paced action and humor. Each half-hour show begins with Bill walking onto the set, called "Nye Laboratories", which is filled with scientific visuals including many "of science" contraptions announced dramatically, relevant to the topic of the episode.

There are several individual segments that are featured in each episode, such as "Way Cool Scientist", which features an expert on the show's topic, "Consider the Following", where Bill discusses a certain aspect of the topic, "Nifty Home Experiment," where the audience is shown how to do a simple home experiment relating to the topic, and "Did you know that... ...Now you know," where an interesting factoid relevant to that episodes topic was presented.