Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary ( 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 as having reached the summit of Mount Everest . They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest , led by John Hunt . Hillary was named by " Time magazine " as one of the people of the 20th century . Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school , making 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 . Youth . Hillary was born to Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Hillary , née Clark , in Auckland , Dominion of New Zealand , on 20 July 1919 . His family moved to Tuakau ( south of Auckland ) in 1920 , after his father ( who served at Gallipoli in the 15th North Auckland ) was allocated land there . His grandparents were early settlers in northern Wairoa in the mid - 19th century after emigrating from Yorkshire , England . Hillary was educated at Tuakau Primary School and then Auckland Grammar School . He finished primary school two years early and at high school achieved average marks . He was initially smaller than his peers there and very shy so he took refuge in his books and daydreams of a life filled with adventure . His daily train journey to and from high school was over two hours each way , during which he regularly used the time to read . He gained confidence after he learned to box . At 16 his interest in climbing was sparked during a school trip to Mount Ruapehu . Though gangly at 6 ft 5 in ( 195 cm ) and uncoordinated , he found that he was physically strong and had greater endurance than many of his tramping companions . He studied mathematics and science at the University of Auckland , and in 1939 completed his first major climb , reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier , near Aoraki / Mount Cook in the Southern Alps . With his brother Rex , Hillary became a beekeeper , a summer occupation that allowed him to pursue climbing in the winter . He joined the Radiant Living Tramping Club , where a holistic health philosophy developed by the health advocate Herbert Sutcliffe was taught . Hillary developed his love for the outdoors on tours with the club through the Waitakere Ranges . His interest in beekeeping later led Hillary to commission Michael Ayrton to cast a golden sculpture in the shape of honeycomb in imitation of Daedalus ' s lost - wax process . This was placed in his New Zealand garden , where his bees took it over as a hive and " filled it with honey and their young " . World War II . Upon the outbreak of World War II Hillary applied to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force , but withdrew the application before it was considered because he was " harassed by [ his ] religious conscience " . In 1943 the Japanese threat in the Pacific and the arrival of conscription finally undermined his pacifist inclination and Hillary joined the RNZAF as a navigator serving in No . 6 Squadron RNZAF and then No . 5 Squadron RNZAF on Catalina flying boat s . In 1945 he was sent to Fiji and to the Solomon Islands where he was badly burnt in a boat accident , after which he was repatriated to New Zealand . Expeditions . Harry Ayres , along with Mick Sullivan , led Hillary and Ruth Adams up the south ridge of Aoraki / Mount Cook , New Zealand ' s highest peak , on 30 January 1948 . Hillary was part of a British reconnaissance expedition to Everest in 1951 led by Eric Shipton before joining the successful British attempt of 1953 . In 1952 Hillary and George Lowe were part of the British team led by Eric Shipton that attempted Cho Oyu . After that attempt failed due to the lack of route from the Nepal side , Hillary and Lowe crossed the Nup La into Tibet and reached the old Camp II , on the northern side , where all the pre - war expeditions camped . 1953 Everest expedition . The route to Everest was closed by Chinese - controlled Tibet , and Nepal only allowed one expedition per year . A Swiss expedition ( in which Tenzing took part ) had attempted to reach the summit in 1952 but was turned back by bad weather and exhaustion from the summit . During a 1952 trip in the Alps , Hillary discovered that he and his friend George Lowe had been invited by the Joint Himalayan Committee for the approved British 1953 attempt and immediately accepted . Shipton was named as leader but was replaced by Hunt . Hillary considered pulling out , but both Hunt and Shipton talked him into remaining . Hillary was intending to climb with Lowe but Hunt named two teams for the assault : Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans ; and Hillary and Tenzing . Hillary therefore made a concerted effort to forge a working friendship with Tenzing . The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people , including 362 porters , twenty Sherpa guides and 10 , 000 lbs of baggage , and like many such expeditions , was a team effort . Lowe supervised the preparation of the Lhotse Face , a huge and steep ice face , for climbing . Hillary forged a route through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall . The expedition set up base camp in March 1953 . Working slowly it set up its final camp at the South Col at . On 26 May Bourdillon and Evans attempted the climb but turned back when Evans ' oxygen system failed . The pair had reached the South Summit , coming within 300 vertical feet ( 91 m ) of the summit . Hunt then directed Hillary and Tenzing to go for the summit . Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days . They set out on 28 May with a support trio of Lowe , Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima . The two pitched a tent at on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain . On the following morning Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent . He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent wearing packs . The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 40 - foot ( 12 m ) rock face later named the " Hillary Step " . Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice and Tenzing followed . From there the following effort was relatively simple . Tenzing Norgay stated in his narration " The Dream Comes True " that Hillary had indeed taken the first step atop Mount Everest , despite Hillary quoting that both had reached the summit at the same time . They reached Everest ' s 29 , 028 ft ( 8 , 848 m ) summit , the highest point on earth , at 11 : 30 am . As Hillary put it , " A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow , and we stood on top . " They spent only about 15 minutes at the summit . Hillary took the famous photo of Tenzing posing with his ice - axe , but since Tenzing had never used a camera , Hillary ' s ascent went unrecorded . However , according to Tenzing ' s autobiography " Man of Everest " , when Tenzing offered to take Hillary ' s photograph Hillary declined : " I motioned to Hillary that I would now take his picture . But for some reason he shook his head ; he did not want it . " Tenzing left chocolates in the snow as an offering and Hillary left a cross that he had been given by John Hunt . Additional photos were taken looking down the mountain in order to confirm that they had made it to the top and that the ascent was not faked . The two had to take care on the descent after discovering that drifting snow had covered their tracks , complicating the task of retracing their steps . The first person they met was Lowe , who had climbed up to meet them with hot soup . News of the expedition reached Britain on the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II , and the press called the successful ascent a coronation gift . In return , the 37 members of the party received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal with MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION engraved on the rim . The group was surprised by the international acclaim that they received upon arriving in Kathmandu . Hillary and Hunt were knight ed by the young queen , while Tenzing received either the British Empire Medal , or the George Medal from the British Government for his efforts with the expedition . It has been suggested that Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused permission for Tenzing to be knighted . After Everest . Hillary climbed ten other peaks in the Himalaya s on further visits in 1956 , 1960 – 1961 , and 1963 – 1965 . He also reached the South Pole as part of the Commonwealth Trans - Antarctic Expedition , for which he led the New Zealand section , on 4 January 1958 . His party was the first to reach the Pole overland since Amundsen in 1911 and Scott in 1912 , and the first ever to do so using motor vehicles . Hillary narrowly missed becoming a victim in TWA Flight 266 from the American midwest in the 1960 New York air disaster , having been late for his flight . In the summer of 1962 , he was a guest on the television show " What ' s My Line ? " . The panellists were blindfolded for his appearance . He stumped the panel , Dorothy Kilgallen , guest panellist Merv Griffin , Arlene Francis , and Bennett Cerf . In 1977 , he led a jetboat expedition , titled " Ocean to Sky " , from the mouth of the Ganges River to its source . Between 1977 and 1979 , Hillary commentated aboard several Antarctic sightseeing flights operated by Air New Zealand . He was scheduled to commentate on 28 November 1979 Air New Zealand Flight 901 , but had to pull out due to work commitments in the United States , and was replaced by his close friend Peter Mulgrew . The aircraft crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica , killing all 257 on board . Hillary later married Mulgrew ' s widow . Hillary took part in the 1975 general election , as a member of the " Citizens for Rowling " campaign . His involvement in this campaign was seen as precluding his nomination as Governor - General , with the position instead being offered to Keith Holyoake in 1977 . However , in 1985 he was appointed New Zealand High Commissioner to India ( concurrently High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Nepal ) and spent four and a half years based in New Delhi . In 1985 he accompanied Neil Armstrong in a small twin - engined ski plane over the Arctic Ocean and landed at the North Pole . He thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest . Hillary was highly critical of a decision not to try to rescue David Sharp , an Everest climber who died on the mountain in 2006 , saying that leaving other climbers to die is unacceptable , and the desire to get to the summit has become all - important . He also said , " I think the whole attitude towards climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying . The people just want to get to the top . It was wrong if there was a man suffering altitude problems and was huddled under a rock , just to lift your hat , say good morning and pass on by " . He also told the " New Zealand Herald " that he was horrified by the callous attitude of today ’ s climbers . " They don ' t give a damn for anybody else who may be in distress and it doesn ’ t impress me at all that they leave someone lying under a rock to die " and that , " I think that their priority was to get to the top and the welfare of . . . a member of an expedition was very secondary . " Australian mountaineer Adam Darragh in turn considered Hillary ' s criticism of Russell Brice ( expedition leader ) and his team as too harsh , and Inglis himself , while maintaining that he remained on good terms with Hillary after the incident , noted that Sharp was " almost frozen solid " and " effectively dead " when the team found him in the difficult terrain on their descent . In January 2007 , Hillary travelled to Antarctica to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Scott Base . He flew to the station on 18 January 2007 with a delegation including the Prime Minister . While there he called for the British government to contribute to the upkeep of Scott ' s and Shackleton ' s huts . On 22 April 2007 while on a trip to Kathmandu he was reported to have suffered a fall . There was no comment on the nature of his illness and he did not immediately seek treatment . He was hospitalised after returning to New Zealand . Public recognition . On 6 June 1953 Hillary was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ; and on On 6 February 1987 was the fourth appointee to the Order of New Zealand . On 22 April 1995 Hillary was appointed Knight Companion of The Most Noble Order of the Garter . The Government of India conferred on him its second highest civilian award , the Padma Vibhushan , posthumously , in 2008 . He was also awarded the Polar Medal for his part in the Commonwealth Trans - Antarctic Expedition , and the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu , 1st Class of the Kingdom of Nepal in 1953 . His favoured New Zealand charity was the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre Inc . ( OPC ) of which he was Patron for 35 years . Hillary was particularly keen on the work this organisation did in introducing young New Zealanders to the outdoors in a very similar way to his first experience of a school trip to Mt Ruapehu at the age of 16 . Various streets , schools and organisations around New Zealand and abroad are named after him . A few examples are Hillary College ( Otara ) , Edmund Hillary Primary School ( Papakura ) and the Hillary Commission ( now SPARC ) . In 1992 Hillary appeared on the updated New Zealand $ 5 note , thus making him the only New Zealander to appear on a banknote during his or her lifetime , in defiance of the established convention for banknotes of using only depictions of deceased individuals , and current heads of state . The Reserve Bank governor at the time , Don Brash , had originally intended to use a deceased sportsperson on the $ 5 note but could not find a suitable candidate . Instead he broke with convention by requesting and receiving Hillary ' s permission — along with an insistence from Hillary to use Aoraki / Mount Cook rather than Mount Everest in the backdrop . The image also features a Ferguson TE20 tractor like the one Hillary used to reach the South Pole on the Commonwealth Trans - Antarctic Expedition . A bronze statue of " Sir Ed " was installed outside The Hermitage hotel at Mount Cook Village , New Zealand , in 2003 . To mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest the Nepalese government conferred honorary citizenship upon Hillary at a special Golden Jubilee celebration in Kathmandu , Nepal . He was the first foreign national to receive that honour . In 2008 , the same year he died , the Indian Government conferred him with Padma Vibhushan , the second highest civilian honour of the country . In 2005 a poll conducted by Reader ' s Digest put Hillary as " New Zealand ' s most trusted individual " , beating cyclist Sarah Ulmer and film director Peter Jackson . He kept the title in 2006 and 2007 After his death in 2008 he was succeeded by Willie Apiata VC , a Corporal in the NZSAS . Two Antarctic features are named after Hillary . The " Hillary Coast " is a section of coastline south of Ross Island and north of the Shackleton Coast . It is formally recognised by New Zealand , the United States of America and Russia . The " Hillary Canyon " , an undersea feature in the Ross Sea appears on the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans , which is published by the International Hydrographic Organization . In 1974 , Folkways Records released " Interview with Sir Edmund Hillary : Mountain Climbing " which included his thoughts on the Everest Expedition and the Abominable Snowman . Personal life . Hillary married Louise Mary Rose on 3 September 1953 , soon after the ascent of Everest . A shy man , he relied on his future mother - in - law to propose on his behalf . They had three children : Peter ( born 1954 ) , Sarah ( born 1955 ) and Belinda ( 1959 – 1975 ) . In 1975 while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu , where he was helping to build a hospital , Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash near Kathmandu airport shortly after take - off . In 1989 he married June Mulgrew , the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew . His son Peter Hillary has also become a climber , summiting Everest in 1990 . In May 2002 Peter climbed Everest as part of a 50th anniversary celebration ; Jamling Tenzing Norgay ( son of Tenzing ; Tenzing himself had died in 1986 ) was also part of the expedition . Hillary had six grandchildren . He spent most of his life ( when not away on expeditions ) living in a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City , where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement . Hillary also built a bach at Whites Beach , one of Auckland ' s west coast beaches in the former Waitakere City , between Anawhata and North Piha . Bob Harvey , mayor of Waitakere , and friend of Hillary ' s from the early 1970s , said that " the West Coast was Sir Ed ' s second home . Anawhata was his favourite beach ; a place he called the most beautiful on the planet . " Harvey said that the bach was Hillary ' s place of solace , where he would go when the media attention became too much — including after his return from conquering Everest . " Building the cottage at Whites Beach – he told me – was one of his greatest pleasures . " Aside from the bach , Hillary also co - owned a large piece of land in Karekare Valley in the 1970s with fellow climber Mike Gill . The Hillary family has had a connection with the West Coast of Auckland since 1925 , when Hillary ' s father - in - law , Jim Rose , built a bach at Anawhata . The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail , named for Edmund ( see " Tributes " , below ) . Philanthropy . Following his ascent of Everest he devoted much 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 this remote region of the Himalaya s . He was the Honorary President of the American Himalayan Foundation , a United States non - profit body that helps improve the ecology and living conditions in the Himalayas . He was also the Honorary President of Mountain Wilderness , an international NGO dedicated to the worldwide protection of mountains . Death . On 11 January 2008 , Hillary died of heart failure at the Auckland City Hospital at around 9 am NZDT ( 10 January at 20 : 00 UTC ) at the age of 88 . Hillary ' s death was announced by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark at around 11 : 20 am . She stated that his death was a " profound loss to New Zealand " . His death was recognised by the lowering of flags to half - mast on all Government and public buildings and at Scott Base in Antarctica . Actor and adventurer Brian Blessed , who attempted to climb Everest three times , described Sir Edmund as a " kind of titan " . He was in hospital at the time of his death but was expected to come home that day according to his family . After Hillary ' s death the Green Party proposed a new public holiday for 20 July or the Monday nearest to it . Renaming mountains after Hillary was also proposed . The Mt Cook Village ' s Hermitage Hotel , the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre and Alpine Guides , proposed a renaming of Mount Ollivier , the first mountain climbed by Hillary . The family of Arthur Ollivier , for whom the mountain is named , are against such a renaming . Funeral . A state funeral was held for Hillary on 22 January 2008 , after which his body was cremated . The first part of this funeral was on 21 January when Hillary ' s casket was taken into Holy Trinity Cathedral to lie in state . On 29 February 2008 , in a private ceremony , most of Hillary ' s ashes were scattered in Auckland ' s Hauraki Gulf as he had desired . The remainder went to a Nepalese monastery near Everest ; a plan to scatter them on the summit was cancelled in 2010 . On 2 April 2008 , a service of thanksgiving was held in his honour at St George ' s Chapel in Windsor Castle . It was attended by the Queen ( but not the Duke of Edinburgh owing to a chest infection ) and New Zealand dignitaries including then Prime Minister Helen Clark . Sir Edmund ' s family and family members of Tenzing Norgay attended as well . Gurkha soldiers from Nepal , a country Sir Edmund Hillary held much affection for , stood guard outside the ceremony . On 5 November 2008 , a commemorative set of five stamps was issued . Tributes . There have been many calls for lasting tributes to Sir Edmund Hillary . The first major public tribute has been by way of the " Summits for Ed " tribute tour organised by the Sir Edmund Hillary foundation . This tribute tour went from Bluff at the bottom of the South Island to Cape Reinga at the tip of the North Island , visiting 39 towns and cities along the way . In each venue school children and members of the public were invited to join together to climb a significant hill or site in their area to show their respect for Hillary . Public were also invited to bring small rocks or pebbles that had special significance to them , that would be collected and included in a memorial to Hillary at the base of Mt Ruapehu in the grounds of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre . Any funds donated during the tour are to be used by the foundation to sponsor young New Zealanders on outdoor courses to continue the values that Hillary espoused . Over 8 , 000 members of the public attended these " Summit " climbs between March and May 2008 . In January 2008 , Lukla Airport , in Lukla , Nepal , was renamed to Tenzing - Hillary Airport in honour of Sir Edmund and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay , for their efforts in the construction of the airport . On 23 October 2008 , it was announced that all future England vs New Zealand rugby test matches will be played for the Hillary Shield named in honour of Sir Edmund . The shield was contested for the first time on 29 November 2008 at Twickenham Stadium , and was presented to the winning team , the New Zealand national rugby union team , by Lady Hillary . Also on 23 October 2008 the Duke of Edinburgh ' s Award in New Zealand ( formerly the Young New Zealanders ' Challenge ) was announced as the youth programme that would take Sir Edmund ' s name as part of its brand ( at the request of the NZ Govt and the Hillary family ) . The organisation re - branded on 20 August 2009 as " The Duke of Edinburgh ' s Hillary Award " . On 11 January 2009 at 9 am the New Zealand duo , " The Kiwis " , performed their tribute song " Hillary 88 " in front of the Beehive in Wellington . This has been recorded as the official world memorial song for Sir Edmund Hillary with the endorsement of Lady Hillary . The band members were Dean Ward and George Watson of Levin . A four - day track in the Waitakere Ranges , along Auckland ' s west coast , is named the Hillary Trail , in honour of Sir Edmund . Hillary ' s father - in - law , Jim Rose , who had built a bach at Anawhata in 1925 , wrote " My family look forward to the time when we will be able to walk from Huia to Muriwai on public walking tracks like the old - time Maori could do " in his 1982 history of Anawhata Beach . Hillary loved the area , and had his own bach near Anawhata ( see " Personal life " , above ) . He and his friend , former mayor Bob Harvey , kept Rose ' s dream alive , and the track was eventually opened on 11 January 2010 , the second anniversary of Hillary ' s death . Rose Track , descending from Anawhata Road to Whites Beach , and passing by Hillary ' s bach , is named after the Rose family . The South Ridge of Aoraki / Mount Cook , New Zealand ' s highest mountain , was renamed Hillary Ridge on 18 August 2011 . Hillary and three other climbers were the first party to successfully climb the ridge in 1948 . In September 2013 the Government of Nepal proposed naming a mountain in Nepal Hillary Peak in his honour . Publications . Books written by Hillary include :