Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries.

Palin wrote most of his material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as The Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition" and "Spam". Palin continued to work with Jones, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

After Python, he began a new career as a travel writer. His journeys have taken him across the world, the North and South Poles, the Sahara desert, the Himalayas and most recently, Eastern Europe. In 2000 Palin became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television.

Himalaya with Michael Palin was a 2004 BBC television series presented by comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin. It records his six-month trip around the Himalaya mountain range area. The trip covered only 3,000 miles (4,800 km) horizontally (a mere nothing compared to the 50,000 miles of Full Circle) but it involved a lot of vertical traveling, including several treks up into the mountains. The highest point attained by Michael Palin was Everest Base Camp at 17,500 feet (5,300 meters).

A book by the same name written by Palin was published to accompany the series. This book contained both Palin's text and many pictures by Basil Pao, the stills photographer on the team. Basil Pao also produced a separate book of the photographs he took during the journey, Inside Himalaya, a large coffee-table style book printed on glossy paper.

This 2004 BBC television series records comedian and travel presenter Michael Palin's six-month trip across the Himalaya mountain range, covering an amazingly diverse range of cultures and environments in various countries. It includes 1° North by Northwest - Pakistan's tribal province, featuring Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Gilgit, Chitral and K2; 2° A Passage to India - Lahore (still in Muslim Pakistan), and in its mainly Hindu rival India: Amritsar, Shimla, Dharamsala (meeting with the Dalai Lama) and Srinagar; 3°Annapurna to Everest - Nepal (the capital Kathmandu, meeting with King Gyanendra, and Annapurna Mountain; includes a scare involving the Maoist rebels in the Gurkha recruiting area) and Tibet (administered as a Chinese province: Pokhara and the Everest base camp on the northern side). 4° The Roof of the World - Tibet's capital Lhasa and in China's Qinghai province Yushu. 5° Leaping Tiger, Naked Nagas - from China's Yunnan province to India's Nagaland state - features Kunming, Lijiang, Lugu Lake, the Naga village of Longwa on the Indian-Burmese border and a trek along Tiger Leaping Gorge; 6° Bhutan to the Bay of Bengal - India's Assam state (Kaziranga National Park), Bhutan (capital Thimphu) and Bangladesh (Sylhet, the capital Dhaka and finally Chittagong on the Bay of Bengal). Written by KGF Vissers

Was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year's List, December 31, 1999.

He is a graduate of Oxford with a degree in History.

Member of the comedy group "Monty Python"

Children: Thomas (b. 1969), William (b. 1971) and Rachel (b. 1975)

Left the Reform Club in London on September 25 1988 for a journey "Around the World in 80 Days" (1989/II) (mini), accompanied by a BBC TV team.

Attended Brasenose College, Oxford University.

Is a supporter of Sheffield United Football Club

Whilst filming "Full Circle with Michael Palin" (1997) (mini), Palin helped to hatch a baby crocodile and asked the crew to get a shot of himself with a crocodile in his hand.

He is an old boy of the ultra-exclusive and expensive English Public school, Shrewsbury School. The section of "Monty Python's meaning of life" set in the school of "Sudbury" is a reference to his time there.

The Virgin Super Voyager train number 221 130 named after him.

He was voted by the public as the best looking Monty Python out of the entire group.

His father had a rather serious stutter. This came in handy when he played Ken (the stuttering thief) in Fish Called Wanda, A (1988).

In a quest for a "Peter Jonesy sort of voice", the casting crew for the original radio series, "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" approached Palin to play the part of The Book (he turned the part down). The part was eventually given to the very "Peter Jonesy" Peter Jones (I).

The Pythons had little idea how fanatical their American audience had become when they performed the live shows that were immortalized in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982). According to Carol Cleveland, as the group were exiting backstage one night, a young (20-ish) girl ran up to Palin, screamed "Oh, Michael!", and promptly fainted in his arms. Palin had to pass the girl to others to help, as he was literally speechless in shock.

His wide travels are so well known that he now has his own travel website called "Palin's Travels.".

In addition to attending the exclusive Shrewsbury School, and later, the University of Oxford; as a lad, he also attended Brikdale School in Sheffield.

Was born the son of an engineer in the industrial city of Sheffield.