Hillary, Sir Edmund

Hillary, Sir Edmund (Percival)

Sir Edmund Hillary, 1956.

(credit: UPI)

(born July 20, 1919, Auckland, N.Z.—died Jan. 11, 2008, Auckland) New Zealand mountain climber and explorer. Hillary was a professional beekeeper but enjoyed climbing in the New Zealand Alps. In 1951 he joined a New Zealand party to the central Himalayas and then went on to help in a reconnaissance of the southern flank of Everest. In 1953, as a member of the British Everest expedition, he and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit on May 29, becoming the first known climbers to do so. The achievement brought Hillary worldwide fame and he was knighted that same year. In 1958 he participated in the first crossing of Antarctica by vehicle. From the 1960s he helped build schools and hospitals for the Sherpa people.