You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without scuba gear.
In February 2011, Alexis C. Madrigal surfaced footage from an early dive that featured a Lambertsen Underwater Respiratory Unit in action.
You were born in December of 1944. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 2 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Justina Hill wrote about the fight against influenza, as the number of cases swelled nationwide.
Around the time you were born, the Battle of the Bulge began on the Western Front of Europe.
In October 2011, Alan Taylor published a photo essay on the Allied invasion of Europe.
Around your 18th birthday, the last U.S. prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion were flown home.
In the Special JFK Commemorative Issue, Robert Dallek wrote about the lasting importance of Kennedy's political victory against his own Joint Chiefs of Staff.
NASA
At 24 years old, you were alive to behold people walking on the moon.
Over the years, the moon landing has come to be lauded as the pinnacle of human achievement, although it was often derided at the time. In 1963, NASA astronauts took to The Atlantic to plead the case for landing on the moon.
Jean-Paul Pelissier / Reuters
In 1977, George Lucas, who was born the same year as you, released the first Star Wars film, kicking off the franchise.
In March 1979, Lynda Miles and Michael Pye wrote about Lucas's early life in Modesto, California.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after the 24-hour news cycle.
In October 2009, Mark Bowden wrote about the toll of constant coverage.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute
When you turned 62, you watched humankind reach the outer solar system.
With NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission in 2005, humans landed a probe in the outer reaches of the solar system for the first time, a moment Ross Andersen called the most glorious mission in the history of planetary science.
History is happening all around you, every day.
The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these:
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