Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountain-climbing New Zealand beekeeper who became a mid-20th century hero as the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died. He was 88.Hillary, who made his historic climb to the top of the world's highest mountain with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay of Nepal, died Friday, according to an announcement from the office of New Zealand's prime minister Helen Clark. The cause and place of death were not immediately reported.
The mountaineer and explorer, shown above in December 1958, became a world-renowned celebrity after climbing Mount Everest. Over the years, his rugged looks appeared on everything from magazine covers to postage stamps.
(AFP/Getty Images)
From a Google search: "Using open-circuit oxygen equipment they departed at 6.30 a.m. Climbing steadily, they reached the south summit at 9 a.m. Onward and upwards into the unknown they persevered. As Hillary stated: 'I continued hacking steps along the ridge and then up a few more to the right ... to my great delight I realized we were on top of Mount Everest and that the whole world spread out below us.' It was 11.30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary had reached the highest point on the earth."
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