Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first known climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Sir Edmund Hillary was born and raised in New Zealand, where he discovered a passion for climbing and exploration during his teen years. He initially thought to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II but eventually decided against it. He was then conscripted into the air force as a navigator during the war in pacific in 1943.

He reached the top of Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953. The two of them became the first known individuals to reach the summit of the mountain. Hillary was knighted soon after this achievement on June 6, 1953. Following his climb, he set up a trust to aid the Sherpa people of Nepal.

• Google News: Sir Edmund Hillary Dead
• The Himlayan Times: Govt to Institute Tenzing-Hillary Award (January 16, 2008)
  • Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prithvi Subba Gurung on Tuesday said he would forward a proposal to the cabinet to set up a $25,000 Tenzing-Hillary International Award, to be given annually to a mountaineer, from across the world, showing special competence in mountaineering.
• Associated Press: Nepal Names Airport for Hillary, Tenzing (January 15, 2008)
  • Tourism Minister Prithvi Gurung said the government was planning to name the airport at Lukla as Tenzing-Hillary airport after Sir Edmund Hillary and his climbing partner, Tenzing Norgay, who scaled the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
• SI.com: "After climbing Everest, Hillary became a man of Nepal" (January 14, 2008)
• New York Times: Sir Edmund Hillary, a Pioneering Conquerer of Everest, Dies at 88 (January 10, 2008)
• BBC News: Sir Edmund Hillary dies aged 88 (January 10, 2008)
• TV New Zealand: Sir Edmund Hillary has died at the age of 88 (January 11, 2008)
• Reuters: Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary dies (January 10, 2008)
• Associated Press: Edmund Hillary, First Atop Everest, Dies (January 10, 2008)
• Times Online: Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary dies (January 10, 2008)
• The Dominion Post: Sir Edmund Hillary dies (January 11, 2008)
• Wikinews: Sir Edmund Hillary angry with mountaineers who left British climber to die (May 24, 2006)

• Wikinews: Sir Edmund Hillary angry with mountaineers who left British climber to die (May 24, 2006)

• TV New Zealand: Sir Edmund Hillary: Timeline

• July 20, 1919: Born

• 1939: 1st summit, Mount Oliver

• World War II: Joined Royal NZ Air Force as a navigator and served on Catalina flying boats

• 1953: [ Summits Everest]

• 1953: Knighted, Marries Louise Rose

• 1958: Expedition to the South Pole

• 1961: Establishes the Himalayan trust

• 1975: Louise Rose and daugher Belinda die in plane crash

• 1989: Marries June Mulgrew, widow of friend Peter Mulgrew

• June 11, 2008: Passes away