Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1973–1976) where he captained the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the schools Physical Science Journal. Born the week that NASA was founded, Tyson had an abiding interest in astronomy from a young age — and obsessively studied it in his teens — eventually even gaining some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of 15. Tyson has stated that his interest in astronomy began when he would climb to the top floor of his New York City apartment building (named the "Skyview Apartments") and look at the moon through binoculars. Astronomer Carl Sagan, who was a faculty member at Cornell University, tried to recruit Tyson to Cornell for undergraduate studies,[1] but Tyson chose to attend Harvard, where he majored in physics. He was a member of the crew team in his freshman year, but returned to wrestling, eventually lettering in his senior year. Tyson earned his B.A. in physics from Harvard in 1980 and began his graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his M.A. in Astronomy in 1983. In addition to wrestling and rowing in college, he was also active in dancing in styles including jazz, ballet, Afro-Caribbean, and Latin Ballroom. In 1985, he won a gold medal with the University of Texas dance team at a national tournament in the International Latin Ballroom style. He began a NOOBY doctoral program at the University of Texas, but transferred in 1988 to Columbia, earning a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics from that institution in 1991.
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