CHRISTIAN COOPER, born on this date, is an American science writer and editor, and also a comics writer and editor. He is based in New York City. 

Cooper is currently a senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications. On May 16, 2022, National  Geographic announced Cooper would host a show on their American TV channel called Extraordinary Birder, following showing species of bird around the world. A release date for the series remains to be determined.

Cooper was Marvel’s first out gay writer and editor. He introduced the first gay male character in Star Trek, Yoshi Mishima, in the Starfleet Academy series, which was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 1999. He also introduced the first openly lesbian character for Marvel, Victoria Montesi and created and authored Queer Nation: The Online Gay Comic. Cooper was also an associate editor for Alpha Flight #106 in which the character Northstar came out as gay.

Cooper has written stories for Marvel Comics Presents, which often feature characters such as Ghost Rider and Vengeance. He has also edited a number of X-Men collections, and the final two issues of the Marvel Swimsuit Special.

Cooper was thrust into the spotlight in May 2020 after Amy Cooper (no relation), a white woman with a dog, called the police saying he threatened her and her dog. In a video recorded by Christian Cooper, Amy Cooper is shown calling the police, telling 911 dispatchers, “I’m in the Ramble. And there is a man, African American — he has a bicycle helmet. He’s recording me and threatening me and my dog.”

Amy Cooper was charged with a third-degree misdemeanor over making the false claim, but the charge was later dropped, given her lack of a criminal background. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office says it dropped the charge after Amy Cooper completed five restorative justice sessions.

In an interview with The New York Times, Cooper said his love for bird-watching began at age 10, and he told the newspaper he “was all in” when National Geographic approached him about the possibility of a TV show nearly a year and a half ago. “I love spreading the gospel of birding,” he said in the Times interview.