Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut and painter. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3, and was the fourth person to walk on the Moon.

Before becoming an astronaut, Bean graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from University of Texas at Austin in 1955 and re-joined the U.S. Navy—he served as an enlisted member for a year after his high school graduation. He received his naval aviator wings in 1956 and served as a fighter pilot. In 1960, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, flew as a test pilot and was The New Nine selection finalist in 1962.

Bean made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12 in November 1969, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. He spent over seven hours walking on the Moon during two lunar excursions. He made his second and final flight into space on the Skylab 3 mission in 1973, the second crewed mission to the Skylab space station.

After retiring from the United States Navy in 1975 and NASA in 1981, Bean pursued his interest in painting, depicting various space-related scenes and documenting his own experiences in space as well as those of his fellow Apollo program astronauts. He was the last living crew member of Apollo 12.

Bean was born March 15, 1932, in Wheeler, the seat of Wheeler County in the northeastern Texas Panhandle, to parents Arnold Horace Bean and Frances Caroline Bean (née Murphy). He considered Fort Worth his hometown. He was of Scottish descent. As a boy, he lived in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where his father worked for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Bean was a Boy Scout and he earned the rank of First Class. He graduated from R. L. Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1949. Following his high school graduation in 1949, Bean enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Bean received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1955, where he attended on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. While at the university, he also joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

He was an Electronics Technician Striker at the NAS Dallas, Texas, until September 1950, when he was honorably discharged. In January 1955, Bean was commissioned a U.S. Navy ensign through the NROTC at the University of Texas at Austin, and attended flight training. After completing flight training in June 1956, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 44 (VA-44) at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, from 1956 to 1960, flying the F9F Cougar and A4D Skyhawk. After a four-year tour of duty, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, where his instructor was his future Apollo 12 Commander, Pete Conrad, graduating in November 1960. Bean took art classes at St. Mary's College of Maryland during this tour, and flew as a test pilot on several types of naval aircraft. Following his assignment at USNTPS and aviation safety training with the University of Southern California (USC), he went through additional instruction with his old Attack Squadron 44, and was assigned to Navy Attack Squadron VA-172 at NAS Cecil Field, Florida, flying the A-4 Skyhawks, during which time he was selected as a NASA astronaut.

Bean logged more than 7,145 hours of flying time, including 4,890 hours in jet aircraft.