Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary KG ONZ KBE OSN (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. Prior to the 1953 Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952. As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest.

Following his ascent of Everest, Hillary devoted most of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded. Through his efforts, many schools and hospitals were built in Nepal. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral.

• Born: 20 July 1919 Auckland, New Zealand
• Died: 11 January 2008 (aged 88) Auckland, New Zealand
• Cause of death: Myocardial infarction
• Spouse(s) Louise Mary Rose (m. 1953–1975) June Mulgrew, QSM (1989–2008)
• Children Peter (b.1954), Sarah (b.1955), Belinda (1959–1975)
• Parents Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Clark

See also: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080229-AP-hillary.html

Tenzing in his 1955 autobiography wrote that Hillary took the first step onto the summit and he followed. They reached Everest's 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit – the highest point on earth – at 11:30 am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary

More than half a century ago, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to summit Everest. Now a collection of rare photos from Hillary’s life is up for auction in New Zealand, featuring scenes of the climbers tackling the world’s tallest peak

https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/aug/25/we-knocked-th...

Limited edition, commemorative $5 banknotes, signed by Sir Edmund Hillary – raising funds for the Himalayan Trust. https://himalayantrust.org/banknote/