submitted on Fri, 02/29/2008 - 13:58 in Sir Edmund Hillary Niche by jamx 
On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to successfully climb Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. Until that climb, Hillary had led the quiet life of a beekeeper in New Zealand, but the unprecedented feat led him to fame, and soon after the ascent he was knighted by the Queen of England.
Sir Edmund Hillary also made history in the Antarctic. Together with Sir Vivian Fuchs, he led the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1955-58) which made the first successful overland crossing of the continent. He later led another Antarctic expedition which included the first ascent of Mount Herschel. He has received many honors and awards, and is honorary president of New York's Explorers Club. Sir Edmund was for many years the New Zealand High Commissioner in India.
May 18, 2002 - KATHMANDU - Nepal said on Sunday it would award honorary citizenship to Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first two men to climb Mount Everest, on the 50th anniversary of the ascent of the world's highest mountain.
"A certificate of honorary citizenship will be handed over to Hillary next week," Home Secretary Tika Dutta Niraula told Reuters, adding this was the first such award to a foreigner. Hillary, a former beekeeper from New Zealand, and Nepali sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, climbed the 29,035-foot Everest summit on May 29, 1953, becoming the first to achieve the feat.
