Neil Armstrong - Was he a Freemason?

Neil Alden Armstrong  was born on August 5, 1930.¹


He was an American astronaut and was the first man to walk on the moon.

Armstrong died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82 due to complications from blocked coronary arteries.

Neil Armstrong was the eldest of three children born to his parents Viola Engel Armstrong and Stephen Koenig Armstrong.^2 3

The main reason for the confusion was that his father was a very active Freemason and therefore by convention, they share the last name.


Since this post is related to the confusion caused due to similar names let me just add some information on the meaning of his name:
"Neil" means "champion" ⁴
"Armstrong" means "strong fighter." 
"Alden," from ald wyn, means "old friend."

So to answer the question "No, Neil Armstrong was not a Freemason" but his father - Stephen Armstrong was a Freemason.



References:

1. NASA Bio Data. [online] Available at:http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html [Accessed August 29 2012].
2. City of Wapakoneta, Ohio. Retrieved August 25, 2012. 
3. Hansen 2005, pp. 49–50.
4. Meaning of Neil