The Explorer Series
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
Born: Jul 20, 1919, in Auckland, Dominion of New Zealand
Died: Jan 11, 2008 (at age 88) in Auckland, New Zealand
Nationality: New Zealand
Occupation: Mountaineer, explorer, philanthropist
Adventure: Mount Everest
Sir Edmund Hillary achieved both fame and infamy as a legendary explorer. His fame came from being the first man to ever climb to the top of Mount Everest. His infamy derived from his deemed ludicrous search for the Abominable Snowman.
He discovered his passion for exploring at a very young age. As a child, Hillary was small, which lead him to be easily teased by his classmates. He found refuge and solitude from his peers in his readings and daydreams of taking part in great adventures. At the age of 16, he had a huge growth spurt only stopping when he reached a solid 6’5” as an adult. However, his interest in adventure never stopped growing.
While attended the University of Auckland, Hillary took part in many climbing adventures. He completed his first major climb reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier in 1939. Almost ten years later, in 1948, Hillary and a group of men reached the highest peak in the country of New Zealand, Aoraki/Mount Cook. This gained him quite a bit of fame and he started to work with the legendary Eric Shipton on a series of expeditions to the Himalaya Mountains in Tibet.
In 1951, Hillary took part in a reconnaissance mission funded by the British. This would be his first climbing experience on Mount Everest. Getting a taste of the ultimate adventure, guaranteed his returned two years later in 1953 when he made history. This was the most difficult of all mountains in the world to climb, but Hillary’s innovative abilities and skills at navigating the trek contributed to his success. Reaching the top of the mountain made him famous all throughout the world further encouraged his desire to explore.
Hillary climbed ten other peaks in the Himalayas on 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. In 1985, he accompanied Neil Armstrong in a small twin-engined ski plane over the Arctic Ocean and landed at the North Pole. Hillary thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest. Quite an accomplishment. To this day, Hillary remains the most famous of all mountaineering explorers.
For his courage and perseverance in doing what he loves, Hillary was awarded the profile of the five dollar banknote in New Zealand.