Happy Captain Picard Day! The first celebration in Star Trek canon occurred in The Next Generation season seven episode 12: “The Pegasus”.

That show also happened to feature Terry O’Quinn as Admiral Erik Pressman. O’Quinn would later be famously known as John Locke (and the Man in Black) in six seasons of Lost, which also featured many other Star Trek alumni.

Captain Picard himself first came to us in the series premier Encounter at Farpoint in 1987. At the time, many fans didn’t know what to make of this British actor playing “The Most English Frenchman in the Galaxy”. Today, Patrick Stewart’s portrayal of Jean Luc Picard is arguably the most iconic Star Trek Captain of all time.

Seven seasons of prime time television and four feature films weren’t enough for the man so fond of tea, Earl Grey, hot. At the age of 79, he starred in his own ‘Trek spinoff Picard in 2020 which is now through its third season.

A good friend of mine once told me that he considered joining the French Foreign Legion, and he would have changed his name to Jean Luc Picard. Awesome.

Patrick Stewart, you rock.