Steve Irwin
An exuberant Australian wildlife educator who used television's thrill factor to ignite global passion for conservation and crocodiles.
1962–2006 (age 44)·Australian conservationist·Birthday: February 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Steve Irwin didn't just talk about wildlife; he hurled himself into its world with infectious, khaki-clad enthusiasm. Taking over his parents' Queensland reptile park, he transformed it into the Australia Zoo and found his true calling as a televised educator. His show, 'The Crocodile Hunter,' was a global phenomenon, built on his hands-on, danger-adjacent approach to animals, particularly crocodiles. Critics sometimes dismissed his style as sensational, but his genuine reverence for creatures was undeniable. He used his massive platform to fund conservation projects and buy habitat land. His tragic death in 2006, filmed by a stingray barb, felt like a paradox—a man who danced with predators taken by a typically docile animal, cementing his legacy as a fearless, complex, and utterly devoted advocate for the natural world.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Steve was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Steve Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Steve's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2006Died at 44
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
Key Achievements
- Starred in the globally syndicated wildlife documentary series 'The Crocodile Hunter', which reached an estimated 500 million viewers.
- Co-founded and expanded the Australia Zoo into a major wildlife conservation and education facility.
- Established the charity Wildlife Warriors Worldwide to support conservation projects across the globe.
- Helped to rediscover the supposedly extinct Victorian grassland earless dragon in 1990.
Did You Know?
He was given a python for his sixth birthday and caught his first venomous snake (a common brown) at age nine.
He and his wife Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together.
He named his daughter Bindi Sue after his favorite crocodile and his dog, respectively.
He was a passionate supporter of the Australian rugby league team, the Melbourne Storm.
“Crikey!”
