Armstrong, who had undergone bypass surgery days after hisbirthday on August 5, died yesterday in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"We are heartbroken to share the news that NeilArmstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascularprocedures," his family said in a statement.
A quiet, private man, at heart an engineer and crack testpilot, Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, as the commander of the Apollo11 spacecraft.
It had taken Apollo 11 craft, carrying Armstrong and fellowastronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, four days to complete the nearly400,000 kms journey, as the world waited with bated breath.
The 195-hour journey that etched Armstrong's place in historyriveted the world's attention at a time of profound social tumult and change inthe United States.
The moon landing was also a major victory for US PresidentJohn F Kennedy, who at the height of the Cold War in 1961 committed himself tolanding a man on the moon and returning him safely before the decade was out.
US officials were alarmed by the success of Cold War rivalSoviet Union's Sputnik on October 4, 1957.
Armstrong was on the moon's surface for two hours and 32minutes and Aldrin, who followed him, spent about 15 minutes less than that.
The two astronauts set up an American flag, scooped up moonrocks and set up scientific experiments before returning to the mainspacecraft.
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap formankind," is how Armstrong had broken the historic news from the Earth'ssatellite when he radioed back.
